Today, March 14, 2025, Mark Carney was sworn in as Canada’s 24th Prime Minister by Governor General Mary Simon alongside the 30th Canadian Ministry. A new Cabinet has been installed.

Prime Minister Carney, the former governor of the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England, assumes office at a critical juncture as Canada faces economic uncertainty amid an unprovoked trade conflict with the United States. His remarks today, “a time of great consequence to our country” and his selection of Cabinet Ministers signals a commitment to quick action to ensure economic resilience and offer a refreshed approach to key policy areas including trade and national security.

Upon arrival at Rideau Hall for the swearing-in ceremony today, Prime Minister Carney stated to media, “We’re a very focused government, focused on action. We’re going to get straight to work.”

Prime Minister Carney’s leadership and policy priorities

Mark Carney won the Liberal leadership election on March 9, securing over 85.9% of votes cast.

Mark Carney’s resounding victory in the Liberal leadership race set the stage for today’s events, as stakeholders watched closely to see how the Prime Minister would assemble a Cabinet to meet this uniquely challenging moment in Canadian political history. It is evident Carney secured a clear mandate from his party to build a Cabinet designed to address economic challenges and manage delicate global relationships as the country prepares for an imminent federal election. He assumes the Liberal leadership and the role of Prime Minister with a dual mandate in this regard, seeking to both stabilize the country’s political and economic footing, while charting a new path for the Liberal Party to win a fourth consecutive election.

In the days between the Liberal leadership election and today’s swearing in, Prime Minister Carney indicated a handful of policy priorities for his government. He and his Ministers reiterated some of these positions today. While some proposed measures are aligned with the priorities of the Liberal government under Prime Minister Trudeau, others mark a significant repositioning of the government to pressing policy issues under new leadership.

Unsurprisingly, the Carney government’s first priority is to manage the ongoing trade war with the United States. This includes identifying and implementing policy measures to support Canadian workers and industry amid the imposition of U.S. tariffs and Canadian countermeasures.

Prime Minister Carney and his Cabinet are expected to pursue the dismantling of interprovincial trade barriers, in collaboration with provincial governments. The Prime Minister expressed throughout his leadership campaign that Canada should operate a single economy, rather than “thirteen economies” across each province and territory. Therefore, we can expect continued attention to breaking down our trade provincial trade barriers.

Notably, Prime Minister Carney remains committed to eliminating the consumer carbon tax, including the planned increase of that levy on April 1, 2025. The carbon tax regime was a policy pillar of the Trudeau government, but the consumer portion of the tax scheme lost much of its public support amid rising inflation and a cost-of-living crisis. Prime Minister Carney is expected to maintain the industrial portion of the carbon tax scheme.

The Carney government will cancel changes to the capital gains tax announced in Budget 2024, which would have resulted in an increase in the capital gains tax inclusion rate. The Trudeau government stood behind this measure amid considerable opposition from some stakeholders. Prime Minister Carney pledged to eliminate this tax reform as a means of ensuring sustainable growth and investment in the Canadian economy.

Composition of Cabinet

Prime Minister Carney significantly reduced the size of the Cabinet today, appointing 23 Ministers as compared to the 37 in Justin Trudeau’s most recent Cabinet.

By streamlining the Cabinet, the Prime Minister aims to create a more agile and efficient team, capable of responding swiftly to economic challenges, including escalatory U.S. tariffs imposed on Canadian goods. This leaner Cabinet is expected to facilitate coordination and decision-making, ensuring that Canada's responses to trade conflicts are both effective and timely. It is also a likely signal that Cabinet is once again going to be working together in a more effective and collective way than what was witnessed in the previous larger Trudeau Cabinet.

Prime Minister Carney notably excluded the following ministers who served in Trudeau’s Cabinet:

  • Karina Gould, former Leader of the Government in the House of Commons who ran against Carney for the Liberal Leadership
  • Jean-Yves Duclos, former Minister of Public Services and Procurement
  • Marc Miller, former Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship
  • Ahmed Hussen, former Minister of International Development
  • Mary Ng, former Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade, and Economic Development
  • Mark Holland, former Minister of Health
  • Arif Virani, former Minister of Justice and Attorney General
  • Pascal St-Onge, former Minister of Heritage
  • Ya’ara Saks, former Minister of Mental Health and Addictions
  • Diane Lebouthillier, former Minister of Fisheries, Oceans, and the Coast Guard of Canada

He also shuffled key Ministers from Trudeau’s Cabinet into new roles:

  • Chrystia Freeland, formerly Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, is now Minister of Transport and Internal Trade
  • François-Philippe Champagne, former Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, is now Minister of Finance
  • Anita Anand, former Minister of Transport and Internal Trade, is now Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry
  • Dominic Leblanc, former Minister of Finance and Intergovernmental Affairs, is now Minister of International Trade and Intergovernmental Affairs and President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada, with a specially designated responsibility for Canada-U.S. relations
  • Kamal Khera, former Minister of Diversity, Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities, is now Minister of Health
  • Steven Guilbeault, former Minister of Environment now serves as Minister of Canadian Culture and Identity, Parks Canada and Quebec Lieutenant, an essential strategic role in anticipation of a forthcoming election
  • Terry Duguid, former Minister of Sport, is now Minister of Environment and Climate Change
  • Gary Anandasangaree, will serve as Minister of Justice and Attorney General in addition to retaining his portfolio as Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs
  • Rachel Bendayan, former Minister of Official Languages, is now Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

Ministers in key roles who will maintain their current posts are:

  • Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs, now adding International Development to her portfolio
  • David McGuinty, Minister of Public Safety, who will now add Emergency Preparedness to his portfolio
  • Ginette Petitpas Taylor, President of the Treasury Board
  • Bill Blair, Minister of National Defence
  • Patty Hajdu, Minister of Indigenous Services
  • Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources
  • Steven MacKinnon, formerly Minister of Employment, Workforce Development, and Labour, is now Minister of Jobs and Families
  • Nate Erskine-Smith, Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities

In addition to his cabinet, Prime Minister Carney is putting in place the staff who will surround him in the Prime Minister’s Office. We can expect further announcements in the coming days.

The following is a complete list of Prime Minister Carney’s Cabinet:

  • Mark Carney, Prime Minister
  • 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

Reaction from Pierre Poilievre, Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada and Leader of the Opposition

In his comments to the media following the swearing in of the new Cabinet, Leader of the Official Opposition, Pierre Poilievre, argued that the Liberals are attempting to “deceive Canadians” by maintaining the same team of ministers and advisors. Mr. Poilievre noted that almost all of Prime Minister Carney's Ministers had served in Justin Trudeau's Cabinet and all of them had been elected under Trudeau's banner. Mr. Poilievre claimed that Prime Minister Carney has neglected Quebec City by not appointing any ministers from the region and failing to designate a Minister for Official Languages. Other accusations by Mr. Poilievre include that Prime Minister Carney plans to hide the consumer carbon tax by temporarily halting it, rather than repealing the underlying legislation. Appreciating that a federal election campaign is essentially already underway, Mr. Poilievre emphasized that his Conservative Party’s agenda includes confronting President Trump, putting Canada first, and reclaiming control. Areas of focus include natural resource extraction, data center and infrastructure development, crime reduction, interprovincial trade and tax cuts.

Looming election

Prime Minister Carney is expected to call an election in the coming weeks, possibly as soon as the week of March 16. However, he may first be visiting President Macron in France and Prime Minister Starmer in Great Britain, further to their invitations to meet.

The election will be the first to use a new 343-seat electoral map, expanded from the current 338 seats. Economic policy and trade relations with the United States are expected to dominate the campaign.

Prime Minister Carney’s Cabinet, as appointed today, will remain in their roles, and maintain authority over their respective portfolios throughout the election period.

The Liberal Party of Canada, led by Prime Minister Carney, will likely look to capitalize on the momentum gained from his leadership victory. Carney's background as a former central banker and his approach to governance have significantly increased enthusiasm within the party and among the public according to recent polls.

The Conservative Party of Canada, led by Pierre Poilievre, is gearing up to challenge the Liberals with a strong focus on fiscal responsibility, public safety, national security and economic growth. The New Democratic Party, under Jagmeet Singh, and the Bloc Québécois, led by Yves-François Blanchet, will seek to expand their seat counts; however, recent polling indicates that the upcoming election is likely to be viewed by voters as a direct battle between competing visions of the Liberals and Conservatives.

With the political climate charged by trade disputes and fears of an economic downturn, voters will likely be watching closely how each party rolls out its election platform and campaigns in addressing threats waged against Canada by President Trump.

Conclusion

The Liberal Party of Canada has officially turned the page from Justin Trudeau’s nine years as Liberal Prime Minister. On the eve of his swearing-in, Prime Minister Carney posted a statement to social media saying he was building a government “that will deliver what our country needs most. We’re going to protect Canadians during this crisis and build a stronger economy for the future.”

Today’s new Carney Cabinet demonstrates that unprecedented circumstances call for a change in the way of doing things. One of the most significant changes in the renaming of portfolios relates to the portfolio of “Government Transformation, Public Services and Procurement.” The promotion of internal trade, potential restrictions on procurement for US companies, and the modernization of Canada’s defence policy underscore the importance of a restructured and agile procurement system in years to come.

The Prime Minister’s actions in the coming weeks, including the timing of his decision to call a federal election, will have an immense impact on Canada’s response to pressing political and economic challenges. We will continue to monitor these developing moments carefully and assess the impacts on Canada’s economy and its political landscape.

For more information on these developments, please contact a member of our team.