Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday January 11, 2017
Trudeau Names Freeland Chief Envoy in Pre-Trump Cabinet Swap
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is shuffling his cabinet ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration, promoting Chrystia Freeland to foreign minister as Canada gets set to face a new U.S. Administration.
Freeland, who as trade minister carried a deal with the European Union over the finish line this fall, will replace Stephane Dion at foreign affairs, according to a statement from the prime minister’s office. Governor General David Johnston swore in the new cabinet ministers in Ottawa on Tuesday afternoon in the first major shuffle since Trudeau took power 14 months ago.
Immigration Minister John McCallum will step down to become ambassador to China, while Dion will resign as a lawmaker and leave active politics. Both are among the longest-serving lawmakers in Trudeau’s government.
In addition to successfully stick-handling the EU trade file, Freeland led Trudeau’s cabinet committee on U.S.-Canada relations — ties that will be tested if the President-elect follows through on his pledge to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement. The 48-year-old is a former journalist, author and Rhodes Scholar who speaks five languages.
“We have an extremely strong team that will continue to deliver,” Trudeau said at a press conference Tuesday. (Source: Bloomberg)
