Trudeau to shuffle cabinet Friday as pressure for him to resign remains

By David Baxter, The Canadian Press on December 19, 2024.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during a Laurier Club Holiday Party event in Gatineau, Que., on Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. Trudeau will shuffle his cabinet on Friday morning. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Spencer Colby

OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will shuffle his cabinet on Friday morning.

A government source confirms a swearing-in ceremony will take place at Rideau Hall.

This comes at the end of a tumultuous week that saw Trudeau lose his finance minister and face a new swell of pressure within his caucus for him to resign.

Before Chrystia Freeland’s bombshell resignation on Dec. 16 Trudeau had already been preparing a cabinet shuffle to replace five ministers who had told him they won’t be running in the next election.

He is also now expected to appoint a new public safety minister with Dominic LeBlanc now balancing that portfolio with the finance role he was given hours after Freeland’s departure.

LeBlanc says that Trudeau enjoys the confidence of his cabinet.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 19, 2024.