Canada’s Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry Francois-Philippe Champagne is not part of today’s cabinet shuffle as a new year election looks near-certain.
Shuffle caps off a hectic week kicked off by the resignation of Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland.
Champagne has been serving as Innovation Minister since 2021, when he took over from Navdeep Bains. The shuffle named eight news MPs to cabinet, replacing some ministers who have resigned or made it known they will not be seeking re-election in recent weeks, while four got new or modified portfolios.
The shuffle includes new ministers responsible for a pair of regional development agencies that fund technology projects in Canada.
Brampton North MP Ruby Sahota is the new Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), replacing Filomena Tassi who announced in October that she will not seek re-election. Sahota re-affirmed her support for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday after an emergency Liberal caucus meeting in reaction to Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland’s surprise resignation.
Additionally, Winnipeg South MP Terry Duguid is replacing Dan Vandal as the new Minister responsible for Prairies Economic Development Canada (PrairiesCan). Vandal also announced his retirement from politics in October.
The shuffle caps off a hectic week leading up to the holidays, kicked off by Freeland’s resignation from her position Monday hours before she was scheduled to deliver the Fall Economic Statement (FES). In her departing statement, Freeland noted that she has been at odds with Trudeau lately regarding the best path forward for Canada at a time when the country faces “a grave challenge” from the United States.
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After hours of uncertainty, chaos, and no finance minister, House Leader Karina Gould tabled the FES just after 4 p.m. on Monday. Less than an hour later, then-Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs, Dominic LeBlanc, had Finance added to his portfolio. LeBlanc retained the finance portfolio in the shuffle, but Ottawa South MP David McGuinty took the Public Safety portfolio off his plate.
Leblanc will now be the one responsible for following through on a number of measures in the FES aimed at spurring more investment in Canada’s technology sector and domestic businesses more broadly.
This includes a renewal of the Venture Capital Catalyst Initiative (VCCI), Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) tax credit reform, programs to encourage more private investment in mid-cap growth firms and pension fund support for artificial intelligence (AI) data centres. There are also measures named in the 2024 budget that LeBlanc will now have to see through, such as the capital gains tax changes that vexed Canadian tech earlier this year, that haven’t yet become law.
However, many promises contained within the FES require legislative amendment, making them unlikely to be fulfilled after NDP leader Jagmeet Singh released a statement announcing his intention to file a non-confidence motion when the House of Commons sits again on Jan. 27, 2025.
The NDP has long propped up the Liberal minority government, voting against the Conservative Party’s non-confidence motions throughout the year despite the end of the supply-and-confidence agreement in September. Without the NDP’s support, an election will almost certainly happen in the spring, leaving the Liberal proposals waiting to follow that result.
Feature image courtesy Justin Trudeau via Flickr.