On Friday, March 14, Her Excellency the Right Honourable Mary Simon, Governor General of Canada, presided over a ceremony at Rideau Hall where Mark Carney was sworn in as Canada’s 30th Prime Minister, alongside the members of his Ministry.
Prime Minister Carney has appointed a 24-member cabinet, a group of ministers tasked with leading the upcoming federal election campaign. Several ministers who held office under former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau were selected to take on new portfolios alongside a few new additions. A notable difference is the new Liberal cabinet has 18 fewer members and does not include a Deputy Prime Minister.
The government assembled by Prime Minister Carney is described as focused on addressing the country’s current crisis and tackling key issues such as the creation of higher-paying jobs, improving affordability, and enhancing national security. It was emphasized that the government will be action-driven with plans to shift away from previous policies. The Prime Minister is anticipated to call an election before the House is scheduled to reconvene on March 24.
While no announcements of specific initiatives directly targeting speech-language pathologists, and audiologists have been made, Speech-Language and Audiology Canada (SAC) is keen on promoting the importance of increasing federal investments to expand communication health services to enhance accessibility and service delivery.
The newly sworn-in Ministers and their portfolios can be found below:
- Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of International Trade and Intergovernmental Affairs and President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada
- Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Development
- François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Finance
- Anita Anand, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry
- Bill Blair, Minister of National Defence
- Patty Hajdu, Minister of Indigenous Services
- Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources
- Ginette Petitpas Taylor, President of the Treasury Board
- Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Canadian Culture and Identity, Parks Canada and Quebec Lieutenant
- Chrystia Freeland, Minister of Transport and Internal Trade
- Kamal Khera, Minister of Health
- Gary Anandasangaree, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada and Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs
- Rechie Valdez, Chief Government Whip
- Steven MacKinnon, Minister of Jobs and Families
- David J. McGuinty, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
- Terry Duguid, Minister of Environment and Climate Change
- Nate Erskine-Smith, Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities
- Rachel Bendayan, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship
- Élisabeth Brière, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Minister responsible for the Canada Revenue Agency
- Joanne Thompson, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard
- Arielle Kayabaga, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister of Democratic Institutions
- Kody Blois, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Rural Economic Development
- Ali Ehsassi, Minister of Government Transformation, Public Services and Procurement
