In Trudeau’s disintegrating cabinet, ministers juggle multiple jobs

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OTTAWA — Newly appointed federal Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc didn’t appear too worried when asked Monday evening how he’ll balance his new duties with his already long to-do list as minister of public safety and intergovernmental affairs.

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“So I guess I’ll start early in the morning and work late at night, and probably won’t take a lot of weekends off,” LeBlanc told reporters outside Rideau Hall, where he’d been sworn in minutes earlier.

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Joking aside, he conceded it will be a tall order.

“I don’t diminish for a minute the work that’s before our government,” LeBlanc admitted. “The good news is I have colleagues and officials that will support me.”

LeBlanc finds himself in charge of the nation’s finances after Chrystia Freeland’s surprise resignation from cabinet. He’ll also be taking over from Freeland as chair of the cabinet Canada-U.S. relations committee.

For now, he’ll need to juggle these new responsibilities with his existing role as public safety minister, and the already formidable task of beefing up security at the southern border under the threat of a 25-per-cent tariff from incoming U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.

He’s also continuing in his role as minister of intergovernmental affairs at a time when the provinces are demanding answers from the federal government over the tariff threat and on a number of other files.

LeBlanc is one of a handful of those in the prime minister’s inner-circle who are pulling double- and triple-duty, as a record number of cabinet ministers are heading for the exits in a growing exodus from a dismally unpopular government.

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There are others that that had to step in to fill the many holes in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s rapidly disintegrating cabinet.

Treasury Board President Anita Anand, for example, took over the transport portfolio in September, after Pablo Rodriguez announced he was leaving the post to test the waters of provincial politics.

Meanwhile, Veterans Affairs Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor has been filling in as employment minister and minister responsible for official languages for almost a month, following Randy Boissonnault’s November resignation from cabinet amidst a cloud of controversy over his past claims to Indigenous ancestry.

Still unfilled is the housing ministry, which Sean Fraser announced he was resigning on Monday morning, saying he would not be running in the next election.

And Freeland’s departure means there is no longer a deputy prime minister, although that is not a position with an official portfolio and there isn’t always a deputy named.

National Post
rmohamed@postmedia.com

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