Mark Carney aims for smaller cabinet, team planning to drop over a dozen ministers: sources | CBC News
Prime minister-designate Mark Carney is aiming for a much leaner cabinet as he prepares to get sworn in on Friday at Rideau Hall.
Sources with knowledge of plans of Carney’s team say he and some 15 to 20 cabinet members will be sworn in.
CBC News has agreed not to identify the sources because they were not authorized to speak on the matter publicly.
The sources say many ministers will be switching jobs or losing them entirely. Carney’s team has been contacting them over the last 48 hours, informing them of the changes.
But key players on the Canada-U.S. relations file, including Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly, Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc and Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne, aren’t expected to be dropped from cabinet.
The new Liberal leader, who is taking over from outgoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, has promised the transition will be “seamless and it will be quick.”
Michele Cadario, former Liberal campaign director, says that amid the chaos of U.S. President Donald Trump, unpredictable things will happen during the upcoming federal election period. Cadario says that to succeed, Mark Carney’s team will need to be focused and flexible.
A total of 37 people are part of Trudeau’s cabinet. He will officially resign as prime minister on Friday, thereby dissolving his cabinet.
In a news statement published Wednesday, Rideau Hall confirmed Carney and his cabinet members will then be sworn in at 11 a.m. at Rideau Hall, the Governor General’s official residence.
Gov. Gen. Mary Simon will preside over the ceremony.
As has been previously reported, former public safety minister Marco Mendicino, whom Trudeau removed from cabinet in 2023, is Carney’s chief of staff during the transition.
Radio-Canada has learned that former Quebec finance minister Carlos Leitão is in talks with Carney’s team about becoming a Liberal candidate in the next election.
Leitão has made no secret of his interest in a possible return to politics. He and Carney have known each other for more than 15 years.
According to Radio-Canada sources, former Quebec premier Jean Charest has also been approached by the Carney camp. It’s unclear exactly what was offered, but Charest has no intention of becoming a minister and would not accept an offer from Carney unless the Liberals win the federal election.
Transition meetings ongoing
Since his landslide victory on Sunday, Carney has held a series of meetings to prepare for his new role. He met with the Liberal caucus on Monday, and Canadian ambassador to the U.S. Kirsten Hillman and Chief of the Defence Staff Jennie Carignan on Tuesday. He had breakfast with Ontario Premier Doug Ford on Wednesday.
As part of the preparations for the transition between Carney and Trudeau, Mendicino met the outgoing prime minister’s staff for an hour on Tuesday afternoon.
Although Trudeau and Carney belong to the same political party, the two teams are treating the transition as a brand new administration. This means that Trudeau’s staff have been emptying out their offices, taking personal belongings such as photos and archiving emails and documents.
It’s expected that many of the staff already working in the Prime Minister’s Office will remain in place, at least until the next federal election, as several members of Carney’s team need to obtain their security clearance before taking up their new duties. These clearances can often take two weeks or more.
Carney is expected to call an election before Parliament resumes on March 24. That would mean Canadians can expect to head to the polls in late April or early May.
Carney visits steelworkers in Hamilton
Dealing with the trade war launched by U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to be at the top of Carney’s agenda as prime minister.
Carney said he was prepared to talk directly with the U.S. president about trade relations between the two countries, but “under a position where there’s respect for Canadian sovereignty.”
Prime Minister-designate Mark Carney, speaking to workers during a visit to steel manufacturer ArcelorMittal Dofasco in Hamilton on Wednesday, says he respects U.S. President Donald Trump’s concerns for U.S. workers and fentanyl and added that he is ready to sit down with the president, but emphasized respect for Canadian sovereignty and working for a common approach on trade.
Carney’s insistence on Canadian sovereignty comes at a time when Trump has repeated his desire to make Canada the 51st U.S. state.
He also called for a common approach on trade between the countries.
Carney made the comments during a visit to steel manufacturer ArcelorMittal Dofasco in Hamilton on Wednesday. The Trump administration imposed a 25 per cent tariff on steel and aluminum from all countries on Wednesday. Canada is the U.S.’s leading supplier of both.
Canada is imposing 25 per cent tariffs on $29.8 billion of U.S. imports in retaliation, effectively doubling its counter-tariffs in place. Those take effect on Thursday.
