Mark Carney's cabinet unveiled: Which Quebecers are in and who's out?
4 Quebecers not returning to cabinet as new PM makes his mark
Mark Carney was sworn in as Canada's 24th prime minister Friday morning, and shortly afterwards his cabinet was, too.
The cabinet includes some fresh and familiar faces from Quebec.
But some other Quebecers didn't make the cut.
François-Philippe Champagne was among the first ones to be sworn in. Minister of innovation, science and industry in Justin Trudeau's cabinet, he will become Carney's finance minister.
Dominic LeBlanc, finance minister under Trudeau, will retain the Canada-U.S. file as Carney's new international trade minister and will keep his role as intergovernmental affairs minister.
Mélanie Joly could not attend the ceremony as she was wrapping up the G7 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Quebec's Charlevoix region. She will be sworn in on Friday as foreign affairs and international development minister, a post she recently held in the last government. She's the only Quebecer who's keeping the same position.
Steven Guilbeault is out as the environment minister and will take on a different job: minister of Canadian culture and identity as well as Parks Canada. He will also serve as Carney's Quebec lieutenant.
Guilbeault has long defended the carbon tax, while Carney, in his first move as prime minister, ended it Friday afternoon, removing a potent point of attack for the Conservatives in recent years.
Rachel Bendayan, Trudeau's associate minister of public safety and minister of official languages, was sworn in as immigration minister. A lawyer, Bendayan formerly taught at Université de Montréal's law school.
There's no minister of official languages in Carney's government, a decision slammed by Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet on Friday.
"Canadians as a whole have been told that Quebec culture and official languages are now part of something called the 'Canadian identity,' taking advantage of what looks like a patriotic surge that could only last as long as the roses," he told reporters.
Élisabeth Brière becomes minister of veterans affairs and minister responsible for the Canada Revenue Agency. She was previously minister of national revenue.
Since she was first elected in 2019, Brière has held a number of parliamentary secretary roles, including to the minister of families and to the minister of mental health and addictions.
Steven MacKinnon, who represents the Quebec riding of Gatineau, remains on board, but switches roles from minister of employment, workforce development and labour to minister of jobs and families.
MacKinnon had expressed early interest in the Liberal leadership role, but ultimately backed down.
Who's out?
Carney's slimmed-down cabinet has four fewer Quebecers than Trudeau's.
Marc Miller, Trudeau's immigration minister, has been replaced by Bendayan, another Montrealer.
Pascale St-Onge, former heritage minister, is also no longer in cabinet. She had recently also taken on the portfolios of tourism and the economic development agency of Canada and for the regions of Quebec on an interim basis. Radio-Canada has reported she will not be seeking re-election as MP in the riding of Brome-Missisquoi in Quebec.
Diane Lebouthillier is leaving her post as minister of fisheries, oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, as is Jean-Yves Duclos who held the portfolio for public services and procurement.
In a statement Thursday, Duclos, who also served as Quebec lieutenant, expressed his confidence in Carney.
"I know of no other economists on the planet who are better prepared than he is to help us get through the crisis of the coming months and years," he wrote.
Quebec City Mayor Bruno Marchand thanked Duclos for his work in the National Capital Region in a post on Bluesky.
"It's disappointing not to have a minister from the National Capital Region. I understand that the mandate of this council of ministers will be to assume a period of transition, My expectation is that the situation will be different after the election," wrote Marchand.
Blanchet told reporters Friday afternoon that this cabinet shuffle leaves behind Quebecers who live in the Quebec City region and eastern parts of the province.
"They no longer have a voice in the Canadian government's cabinet," said Blanchet. "The ability of Canada's ephemeral government, as we know it, to have a real understanding of Quebec's territory and issues is, for me, very uncertain."
But he says he has an obligation to collaborate well, given the current context.
Quebec Premier François Legault congratulated the members of the new federal cabinet, especially those from the province.
"We must continue to work to protect our economy from Donald Trump's unjustified tariffs," he wrote in a post on X.
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With files from CBC's Catharine Tunney and Darren Major