13 Trudeau-era ministers survive Carney's cabinet overhaul

Jayden Dill · CBC News

· Posted: May 14, 2025 5:11 PM EDT | Last Updated: 8 minutes ago

When Prime Minister Mark Carney unveiled his caller furniture this week, determination were 15 caller faces among the group. There were besides 13 who had served successful the erstwhile furniture of Justin Trudeau.

Carney insists his furniture strikes the close equilibrium between "new perspectives" and experienced voices, but absorption critics person seized connected the Trudeau-era holdovers arsenic grounds that the caller Liberal authorities represents much of the same.

"There is a large woody of alteration successful this cabinet, by necessity," Carney said aft Tuesday's swearing-in ceremonial astatine Rideau Hall. "Canadians voted for change, and portion of it is bringing successful those caller perspectives.

"But it besides means that fractional of the furniture has experience," helium added. "Perhaps they were successful antithetic roles, but they are going to beryllium astir the table.… Half and half, for me it's perfect."

Many of those aged hands person assumed roles that volition beryllium instrumental arsenic Carney attempts to instrumentality his agenda, particularly transforming Canada's system successful the look of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff threats.

Anita Anand, who held respective furniture posts successful the Trudeau government, is 1 of the ministers starring Canada-U.S. relations successful her relation arsenic Foreign Affairs minister. Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne and Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc are keeping akin roles, arsenic is Transport and Internal Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland.

Defence Minister David McGuinty and Gary Anandasangaree, who takes implicit the Public Safety portfolio, are besides erstwhile Trudeau ministers, arsenic is caller Industry Minister Mélanie Joly.

Sean Fraser, Steven Guilbeault, Patty Hajdu, Steven MacKinnon, Joanne Thompson and Rechie Valdez are besides holdovers from the erstwhile cabinet.

That continuity prompted Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre to knock Carney's beforehand seat for its resemblance to that of the erstwhile premier minister.

"The archetypal disappointment is, unfortunately, his cabinet," Poilievre said Tuesday. "He appointed Trudeau's aged squad and Trudeau's aged advisors."

The Conservatives' deputy leader Melissa Lantsman posted a photograph connected societal media showing the beforehand rows astatine the caller cabinet's swearing-in ceremonial connected Tuesday. They consisted solely of ministers who were besides portion of Trudeau's cabinet.

"No, you're not mistaken, this representation is from today," Lantsman quipped.

Guilbeault told Nil Köksal connected CBC Radio's As It Happens that the furniture needs acquisition alongside caller blood.

"If you got escaped of each erstwhile furniture ministers, galore radical would person said, 'These are each caller people, wherever are each the radical who person acquisition with cabinet?" Guilbeault said.

Stéphanie Chouinard, an subordinate prof of governmental science at the Royal Military College successful Kingston, Ont., said the caller faces are indispensable to amusement Canadians that a caller section has begun — but the rookies must hit the crushed running.

At the aforesaid time, returning ministers will request to amusement they person what it takes to transportation retired their caller mandates.

"It's going to beryllium up to each azygous 1 of these ministers to amusement they tin beforehand the mandate that has been fixed to them," Chouinard said. "If they don't deliver, I deliberation they'll beryllium proceeding from the brag sooner alternatively than later."

Two of Carney's cardinal ministers, Anand and Fraser, had announced their intentions to exit federal authorities earlier the election. Now, they service arsenic the ministers of overseas affairs and justice, respectively.

Fraser, who ran the lodging and migration portfolios nether Trudeau, announced his departure successful December due to the fact that of the strain the occupation placed connected his household life.

Anand was president of the Treasury Board, a relation she said was cardinal to reining successful national authorities spending. She had planned to instrumentality to her erstwhile vocation arsenic a instrumentality prof erstwhile Trudeau resigned, but reversed people arsenic the tide began to crook for the Liberals nether Carney's leadership.

The caller cabinet has 29 ministers including Carney, with 8 rookie MPs jumping consecutive to the beforehand bench. They'll be  supported by 10 secretaries of states.

Carney said Tuesday that helium wants his furniture to bespeak Canada "in each its diverseness and grandeur and experience."

"I don't privation a furniture that conscionable looks similar me," helium said.