Trudeau Shores Up Economic Bench Amid Affordability Crunch

2023-07-26 15:03

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau placed greater emphasis on portfolios such as housing and the Treasury Board in an

Trudeau Shores Up Economic Bench Amid Affordability Crunch

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau placed greater emphasis on portfolios such as housing and the Treasury Board in an extensive cabinet shuffle on Wednesday, shoring up his economic bench as his government faces attacks over the rising cost of living.

The shuffle is expected to be Trudeau’s last major rejig before an election sometime in the next two years. His chief rival, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, has blamed Trudeau’s fiscal policy for the skyrocketing prices of food and shelter.

While Trudeau left Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland and Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne in their roles, he moved Anita Anand from defense to the Treasury Board, where she will be responsible for government administration and the public service. He also shuffled Sean Fraser from immigration to housing.

Both Anand and Fraser are effective ministers with strong communication skills, suggesting Trudeau intends to bring a higher profile to two portfolios where Poilievre has hit him hard.

Fraser’s experience in immigration will be crucial on the housing file, given that Trudeau’s record-high targets for newcomers have strained housing shortages. A TD Economics report on Wednesday warned that if Canada remains on track to add another million people this year, the gap between housing supply and demand would grow to 500,000 units by 2025.

Marc Miller, who as Crown-Indigenous relations minister quieted some of the loudest criticisms of Trudeau on reconciliation, will take the reins at immigration. He’ll need to deliver the government’s message that immigrants are desperately needed to fill labor shortages, especially in health care and homebuilding.

The new defense minister will be Bill Blair, the former Toronto police chief who has most recently served as emergency preparedness minister. Blair inherits a number of challenging files, including the war in Ukraine, crumbling North American air defense systems and pressure to meet the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation commitment of spending 2% of economic output on defense.

Trudeau also shifted Pablo Rodriguez from heritage to transport, after the previous minister in charge of that role said he wouldn’t run again. Pascale St-Onge will take over the heritage file amid the contentious rollout of a new law to require digital giants to compensate news outlets for their content.

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