By Canadian Press

Prime Minister Mark Carney to unveil his new cabinet on Tuesday

May 9, 2025 | 1:09 PM

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Mark Carney is set to unveil his new cabinet at Rideau Hall on Tuesday — and it’s expected to be a slimmed-down front bench meant to signal a more businesses-minded approach to government.

Rideau Hall confirmed the timing of the swearing-in ceremony in a media release on Friday.

Marci Surkes of the government relations firm Compass Rose Group said Carney will seek to draw a sharp contrast between his government and that of former prime minister Justin Trudeau — and about one-third of the new cabinet could be fresh faces.

But Carney also faces distinct challenges due to the trade turbulence unleashed by U.S. President Donald Trump and a public opinion environment that soured on Trudeau and the previous Liberal government.

Surkes said that while Carney needs to signal change, some of the current main players on Canada-U.S. relations — such as Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc and Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly, both major figures in Trudeau’s cabinets — have cultivated relationships with key contacts in the U.S. and have deep understanding of their files.

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“The tough decision points here for Mr. Carney are how many of these veterans, who do have deep value, can you maintain when you are trying to signal change and trying to signal that you’re trimming the size,” she said.

During the election campaign, the Conservatives frequently accused Carney of being cut from the same cloth as the unpopular Trudeau and speculated that his cabinet would have the same faces and pursue the same policies.

The Liberals attracted some star election candidates who could be elevated to cabinet Tuesday. They include former Vancouver mayor Gregor Robertson, Quebec’s former finance minister Carlos Leitão and prominent gun control advocate Nathalie Provost.

Other notable Liberals to watch include Jill McKnight, former head of the Delta Chamber of Commerce in B.C., and Buckley Belanger, the first federal Liberal elected in Saskatchewan since 2019.

Carlene Variyan of Summa Strategies said it’s rare to have “this quantity of fresh talent” come in for a government’s fourth term.

“Canadians I think are willing to give (Carney) a lot of rope at this point to do what he believes needs to be done, and that includes everything from significantly shaking up who in the Liberal caucus has a cabinet position to bigger things like policy moves,” she said.

“If I am Mark Carney and his senior team, I am probably doing my cabinet planning knowing that this is my one opportunity to make big changes.”

Carney also has committed to gender parity in his cabinet — a standard established by Trudeau when he took office in 2015.

Some new and returning MPs also have close ties to the prime minister.

Tim Hodgson, elected in the Ontario riding of Markham—Thornhill, was CEO of Goldman Sachs Canada when Carney worked there and was an adviser to Carney when he was governor of the Bank of Canada.

Carney is godfather to Chrystia Freeland’s son. Freeland played a central role in the last government and ran against Carney for the party leadership.

Trump went out of his way to call her “terrible” this week during his face-to-face meeting with Carney.

Carney’s first cabinet, named shortly after he won the Liberal leadership in March, was smaller than Trudeau’s last team.

Parliament is slated to return on May 26 and Carney has announced that King Charles will deliver the speech from the throne the next day.

— With files from Nick Murray

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 9, 2025.

Catherine Morrison and Kyle Duggan, The Canadian Press