Carney to unveil cabinet, with more than half expected to be new faces

Prime Minister Mark Carney is set to reveal his new cabinet in an overhaul that is expected to see a slate of senior and junior ministers, with more than 50 per cent of the MPs expected to be first-timers, sources tell Global News.

The swearing-in of ministers is expected to begin at 10:30 a.m. Eastern, with Gov. Gen. Mary Simon presiding over the ceremony.

Ahead of the start, several Liberals could be seen walking up to Rideau Hall.

Among those arriving were Steve MacKinnon, Chrystia Freeland, Francois-Philippe Champagne, Anita Anand, Steven Guilbeault, Dominic LeBlanc, Patty Hajdu, Melanie Joly and Sean Fraser, all of whom are current or former Liberal cabinet ministers, several of whom waved at reporters as they walked into Rideau Hall on Tuesday morning.

Former Vancouver mayor Gregor Robertson and former HydroOne executive Tim Hodgson also walked in, alongside Northwest Territories MP Rebecca Alty and Marjorie Michel, the MP who won the seat of Papineau where Trudeau once served.

Alberta MP Eleanor Olszewski, British Columbia’s Jill McKnight, former Saskatchewan MLA Buckley Belanger, Quebec MP Nathalie Provost and Rebecca Chartrand, who unseated longtime NDP MP Niki Ashton, were also seen arriving.

Nova Scotia MP Lena Diab, Ontario MPs Julie Dabrusan and Shafqat Ali, New Brunswick’s Wayne Long, Heath MacDonald from Prince Edward Island and B.C.’s Randeep Sarai are also among those spotted by reporters on the walk up to Rideau Hall.

The cabinet, according to sources, will be separated into two groups.

The first group will be made up of fewer than 30 senior ministers, holding portfolios including foreign affairs, defence and the minister poised to lead negotiations with the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump.

The second cabinet group will consist of up to 10 junior ministers, roles the government plans to call “secretaries of state” but which in the past have been formally appointed as “ministers of state to assist,” according to federal records.

“Secretaries of State are sworn to the Privy Council and are members of the Ministry. As such, they are bound by collective responsibility. They are not, however, members of the Cabinet. Secretaries of State are assigned to assist Cabinet Ministers in specific areas within their portfolios,” a record of the roles said when they were last used under former prime minister Jean Chretien.

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In Carney’s cabinet, sources say the job of secretary of state will be to assist senior ministers in portfolios like natural resources and defence.

Half a dozen sources throughout the day and evening on Monday described the process of determining who would be in cabinet as “chaotic.”

Carney has committed to a gender-balanced cabinet, as well as one he called “efficient,” though he did not say how much bigger it could be than the 23 ministers who were sworn in March 14, not including himself.

Regional representation will also likely come into play, though MPs from Alberta and Saskatchewan are likely given ongoing rhetoric of Western separatism and the fact the Liberals haven’t had a member from the latter province since 2019.

Also at hand is who Carney may keep related to Canada’s ongoing relationship with the U.S.

Trump’s trade war was a major focus for Canadians in the recent federal election, with polling by Ipsos conducted exclusively for Global News showing it was one of the top concerns shaping voters’ minds.

— with files from Global News’ Sean Boynton and Mackenzie Gray and The Canadian Press