Among them, the most interesting thing is the personnel changes in two important ministerial positions. One is that the former Foreign Minister Stéphane Dion will leave politics and serve as the Canadian ambassador to the European Union and Germany; Another well-known former Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, John McCallum, will also leave politics and become the Canadian ambassador to China.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will be headed by Chrystia Freelan, the former Minister of International Trade. Freelan was a journalist who made great contributions to the free trade process between Canada and the European Union. I believe her experience will be applied in dealing with the new Trump administration.
Chrystia Freelan
It is worth noting that in 2014, Russia banned 13 Canadian officials from entering Russia in retaliation for Canada’s sanctions against Russia. Chrystia Freelan, the new foreign minister, is on this list, and she has been confirmed that she is still banned from entering the country.
Canada’s Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship will be Ahmed Hussen, a member of Parliament from Ontario. He was the first provincial councillor in Canada who was born in Somalia. He immigrated to Canada as a refugee at the age of 16, and later became a lawyer and was keen on politics.
Ahmed Hussen
Except for the two "veterans" of the Liberal Party who withdrew from politics, the other candidates in the cabinet changed as follows:
Patty Hajdu will be transferred from Minister of the Status of Women to Minister of Labor;
Maryam Monsef will be transferred from the Minister of Democratic System Affairs to the Minister of the Status of Women;
Karina Gould will be appointed Minister of Democratic System Affairs.
Cabinet reshuffle preceded the inauguration ceremony of the US President.
Donald Trump is about to be sworn in as president of the United States next week, and the early reshuffle of Canadian cabinet members is considered to prepare for possible variables in the US-Canada relationship.
Although CBC reported that although Canada does not seem to be on the list of targets hit by US President Donald Trump at present, in order to nip in the bud, the Canadian government has sent important personnel to have private contact with Trump’s confidants to ensure that Trump has established a good communication channel with his new government before taking office, and mainly to find out Trump’s attitude towards Canada-US trade and the North American Free Trade Agreement.
As we all know, Trump is not a supporter of free trade. If the North American Free Trade Agreement is cancelled, the free trade agreement signed by Canada and the United States in 1989 will also be threatened. Canada should have various plans to deal with the unknown.
Source: Lohas Canada (lahoo.ca)