The New Trudeau Cabinet

While the eyes of many Canadians will be on the television screen Wednesday to witness Justin Trudeau's swearing in as our new Prime Minister, equally riveting will be the introduction of his cabinet the same day. Given the wide-range of talent his party saw elected, both new and veteran MP's will likely be harbouring high hopes of securing one of the coveted positions.

In the Sunday edition of the paper, The Star's Bob Hepburn indulged in some interesting speculation, reminding us of the factors to be considered:

These factors include the size of the cabinet, gender equality, ethnic diversity, regional distribution and a balance of new and veteran MPs, but leaning to young and new versus old and experienced.
Some critics have suggested Trudeau is putting gender and regional concerns ahead of talent as the top priority in selecting the ministers.

In reality, though, any cabinet, regardless of whether it is Liberal or Conservative, “is never a pure and simple meritocracy,” says a key Trudeau adviser. “Obviously there are expectations if you are elected, such as every province gets a cabinet minister, and you look at regional balance, gender, and diversity as well as competence.”

As well, yesterday's Question Period saw former Liberal cabinet minister and deputy prime minister, Anne McClellan, along with political analyst Scott Reid, considering the possibilities:



Given the historical and infamous infighting that has bedeviled the Liberal Party, much would seem to be riding on Trudeau making some very wise choices here.