Carr could be tapped for regional minister in Trudeau’s Liberal cabinet

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This article was published 20/10/2015 (3639 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA — Having won a majority, Justin Trudeau must decide who is going to be in his cabinet.

The prime minister-designate announced Tuesday he will name his cabinet Nov. 4.

“Our approach is to name a cabinet as quickly as possible,” he said.

Trudeau would not give a date for when the House of Commons might resume with a throne speech, saying his transition team is working on the timeline.

He will attend the United Nations convention on climate change in Paris in the first week of December, and he is determining whether he can attend other international summits, including the G20 in Turkey and the APEC summit in the Philippines, which are in mid-November.

He has said he will consult with premiers, many of whom expect to travel with Trudeau to Paris, ahead of the conference.

This means it’s unlikely Canadians will see a throne speech before mid-December. Trudeau has promised to introduce certain legislation, such as a middle-class tax break, within the first 100 days of his mandate, so the latest people can expect the House of Commons to resume is January.

Stephen Harper delivered his first throne speech in April 2006, about two months after being sworn in as prime minister.

“My priority is to bring it back as quickly as is reasonable,” Trudeau said Tuesday.

But before any of that can happen, he has to appoint a cabinet. He said Tuesday his cabinet will be smaller than the 39 ministers and ministers of state Harper had in his final cabinet.

He said his ministers will have more power.

“One of the things that Canadians expect is a cabinet that is filled with people who are not just representatives of their ministries and departments, but actual deciders,” he said.

In addition to appointing ministers of departments such as finance, health, defence, trade and justice, Trudeau will have to choose a cabinet minister from each province as a regional minister.

Former regional Manitoba minister Lloyd Axworthy, who served in cabinet under Pierre Trudeau and Jean Chrétien, said his role as a regional minister was to be the prime minister’s eyes and ears in Manitoba and represent Manitoba, not just his portfolio, at the cabinet table.

“You’re given a political responsibility to keep an eye on things happening and to make sure Manitoba is effectively recognized in Ottawa when decisions were made,” he said.

Axworthy said he thinks the regional minister role was less independent under outgoing Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

He believes Trudeau will give his ministers a longer leash. “Trudeau has such a different view of government being very open and consultative,” he said.

There are some stars among the 184 Liberals elected Monday, many of whom are cabinet material, such as retired general Andrew Leslie, former Toronto police chief Bill Blair, and former financial reporter Chrystia Freeland. MPs such as Ralph Goodale, John McCallum and Scott Brison, who all served in cabinet in previous Liberal governments, are expected to be called upon.

Winnipeg South Centre MP-elect Jim Carr is considered the likely choice for regional minister.

Carr refused to speculate Tuesday.

Trudeau promised half his cabinet would be women, and he has 50 female MPs to choose from. Only one is from Manitoba: MaryAnn Mihychuk. Mihychuk was an NDP MLA in Gary Doer’s government and served as the minister of industry, trade and mines and later intergovernmental affairs, before she resigned to run for mayor of Winnipeg in 2004.

mia.rabson@freepress.mb.ca