Ottawa, Canada

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is all set to shuffle his cabinet, with the rejig of his front bench expected to take place on Wednesday, CTV News reported citing senior government sources.

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As per reports, Trudeau, ahead of a subsequent trip to Rideau Hall, is holding private meetings with ministers in Ottawa, following the rumours of a scheduled summer shuffle emerged in the federal political scene for weeks.

Transport Minister Omar Alghabra, Housing and Diversity and Inclusion Minister Ahmed Hussen, and Minister of Official Languages and Minister Responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency Ginette Petitpas Taylor were the ones who had called off the announcements, according to CTV News reports.

Following fierce political scrutiny of the ways in which government handles important issues like housing affordability, public safety, and policies concerning online platforms during the autumn and spring sittings, the minority Liberals are attempting to reset their messaging on a few hot files with this upcoming and potentially momentous cabinet shuffle. 

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Several ministerial announcements across the country slated for Monday were postponed over the weekend, likely to allow the cabinet members to come back to the national capital in order to consult with PM Trudeau prior to the cabinet shuffle. However, some ministers have continued to travel outside of Ottawa on Mondays, as per CTV News reports.

In case an election is called, it is expected that the ministers will have informed the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) of their plans to run again. Since the ones who specified they won't run again are the ones to be likely removed, the prime minister may be able to promote the ones that are the high-performing members of his backbenches to the cabinet before the next election, which currently is scheduled for the year 2025.

Carolyn Bennett, who is a longtime member of the Liberal Party and also the current Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, on Monday, announced that she will not seek re-election, making the downtown Toronto seat open for the upcoming election.

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As per reports, Bennett said that she had previously met the prime minister and conveyed her decision to him.

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Previous cabinet shuffle was in 2022

The last time when Trudeau changed his cabinet was in the year 2022 when he only switched Helena Jaczek's and Filomena Tassi's portfolios, reported CTV News.

That shuffle was the very first time when Trudeau had tweaked his ministerial roster since the elections that took place in the year 2021, when he significantly changed ministers in charge of crucial portfolios and the Liberals managed to retain power with a second minority government.

Many believe that Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino will be reassigned after being criticised for the way he handled the gun control legislation and also the transfer of serial killer Paul Bernardo.

Amidst calls from the Conservative Party for him to leave, last week, when reporters questioned if Trudeau still had confidence in him, the prime minister responded by saying that anyone in his cabinet "by definition has my confidence."

"I have an amazing team in Ottawa, and an amazing group of MPs right across the country who are committed to serving their country every single day," Trudeau said. 

Excluding the prime minister, at present, there are 38 members in the gender-balanced cabinet.

The timing of this expected shuffle comes before an August cabinet retreat in PEI and the return of Parliament in late September, CTV News reported.

(With inputs from agencies)

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