CP NewsAlert: LeBlanc, MacKinnon take on internal trade, transport as Freeland quits

By Canadian Press on September 16, 2025.

OTTAWA — Federal cabinet ministers Dominic LeBlanc and Steven MacKinnon are taking on additional responsibilities to fill roles previously held by departing minister Chrystia Freeland.

LeBlanc is currently intergovernmental affairs minister and the prime minister’s point person for dealing with U.S. President Donald Trump’s ongoing trade war.

He was also sworn in as internal trade minister at Rideau Hall late this afternoon while MacKinnon, the Government House leader, was sworn in as the new transport minister.

Freeland announced her resignation from cabinet earlier today and said she will not seek re-election.

Prime Minister Mark Carney appointed her to a new position as Canada’s special envoy for the reconstruction of Ukraine.

Freeland has been a prominent government advocate for Ukraine on the world stage and a central figure in both Liberal circles and the federal government over the past decade.

More coming.

Kyle Duggan and Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press