(Prime Minister Justin Trudeau shakes hands with Gov. Gen. David Johnston during the swearing-in ceremony in Rideau Hall Wednesday.)
APTN National News
OTTAWA–Led by Theland Kicknosway, a 12 year-old Pottawatami-Cree youth from Walpole Island, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his new cabinet walked into history Wednesday as they were sworn into office in the ballroom of Rideau Hall.
The Secretary to the Governor General Stephen Wallace acknowledged the ceremony was taking place on Algonquin land and two Inuit girls performed a short throat-singing song before Trudeau and his ministers issued their oaths of office, signaling that this new federal government is serious about a new relationship with the Indigenous peoples of the land.
Central to Trudeau’s cabinet is Jody Wilson-Raybould who was sworn-in as Justice Minister and Attorney General of Canada. The former Assembly of First Nations regional chief of British Columbia and Crown prosecutor becomes the first Indigenous person to hold the senior portfolio which plays a role in almost every federal matter.
Trudeau also named Carolyn Bennett as the minister for the newly re-named Indigenous and Northern Affairs department, formerly known as Aboriginal Affairs. Bennett was the Liberal’s Aboriginal affairs critic while in opposition.
Hunter Tootoo, the former Nunavut speaker of the legislator, was named Fisheries and Oceans Minister, ensuring an Inuk will again sit in the federal cabinet.
The new cabinet also features:
- Minister of Public Safety Ralph Goodale
- Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay
- Minister of Immigration John McCallum
- Minister of National Defence Harjit Singh Sajjan
- Treasury Board President Scott Brison
- Government House Leader Dominic LeBlanc
- Minister of Foreign Affairs Stéphane Dion
- Minister of Finance Francis Morneau
- Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Navdeep Singh Bain
- Minister of Public Services and Procurement Judy Foote
- Minister of International Trade Chrystia Freeland
- Minister of Health Jane Philpott
- Minister of Families, Children and Social Development Jean-Yves Duclos
- Minister of Transport Marc Garneau
- Minister of International Development and La Francophonie Marie-Claude Bibeau
- Minister of Natural Resources James Gordon Carr
- Minister of Canadian Heritage Mélanie Joly
- Minister of National Revenue Diane Lebouthillier
- Minister of Veterans Affairs Kent Hehr
- Minister of Environment and Climate Change Catherine McKenna
- Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour MaryAnn Mihychuk
- Minister of Infrastructure and Communities Amarjeet Sohi
- Minister of Democratic Institutions Maryam Monsef
- Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities Carla Qualtrough
- Minister of Science Kristy Duncan
- Minister of Status of Women Patricia Hajdu
- Minister of Small Business and Tourism Bardish Chagger
All I can say is WOWSER! !!!
All Top Ministers in each and every portfolio!
I am SO DAMN Proud to be CANADIAN!
20 years ago I predicted that this would happen in
MY LIFETIME.
Everyone disagreed with me.
Suck IT UP AND Go EAT CROW.