Canada decided it was “prime” time for change

After seven years as Member of Parliament (MP) for the riding of Papineau, QC, two and a half years as the Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, and 16 days as Prime Minister-Designate, the Right Honourable Justin Trudeau now has four years (give or take) as Prime Minister of Canada. Prime Minister Trudeau was officially sworn in on November 4^th, 2015 at Rideau Hall along with his new cabinet.

With over 200 new MPs, it is no surprise the cabinet is full of fresh faces, but there is more you should know:

1. Prime Minister Trudeau kept his promise for gender equality. There are 15 women and 15 men around his cabinet table.
2. 24 Ministers are new; six were in cabinet in previous Liberal governments.
3. Each province has at least one cabinet seat and the northern territories are represented by one.
4. Aboriginal Canadians have two cabinet posts, along with several visible minorities.
5. The cabinet has shrunk from 39 positions to 30.

So who’s made the cut?

• The Right Honourable Justin Trudeau, our new Prime Minister, who will also serve as Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and Youth.
• The Honourable Ralph Goodale a returning MP from Saskatchewan who will serve as Public Safety Minister.
• The Honourable Lawrence MacAulay a returning MP from P.E.I. who will serve as Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister.
• The Honourable Stephane Dion a returning MP from Quebec who will serve as Foreign Affairs Minister.
• The Honourable Chrystia Freeland a returning MP from Ontario who will serve as International Trade Minister.
• The Honourable Jim Carr a rookie MP from Manitoba who will serve as Natural Resources Minister.
• The Honourable Catherine McKenna a rookie MP from Ontario who will serve as Environment and Climate Change Minister.
• The Honourable Dominic LeBlanc a returning MP from New Brunswick who will serve as Leader of the Government in the House of Commons.
• The Honourable John McCallum a returning MP from Ontario who will serve as Immigration Minister.
• The Honourable Navdeep Bains a returning MP from Ontario who will serve as Innovation, Science and Economic Development Minister.
• The Honourable Bill Morneau a rookie MP from Ontario who will serve as Finance Minister.
• The Honourable Jody Wilson-Raybould a rookie MP from B.C. who will serve as Justice Minister and Attorney General of Canada.
• The Honourable Jane Philpott a rookie MP from Ontario who will serve as Health Minister.
• The Honourable Mélanie Joly a rookie MP from Quebec who will serve as Heritage Minister.
• The Honourable Harjit Sajjan a rookie MP from B.C. who will serve as National Defence Minister.
• The Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos a rookie MP from Quebec who will serve as Families, Children and Social Development Minister.
• The Honourable Carolyn Bennett a returning MP from Ontario who will serve as Indigenous and Northern Affairs Minister.
• The Honourable Judy Foote a first-time MP from Newfoundland and Labrador who will serve as Public Services Minister.
• The Honourable Marc Garneau a returning MP from Quebec who will serve as Transport Minister.
• The Honourable Diane Lebouthillier a rookie MP from Quebec who will serve as National Revenue Minister.
• The Honourable Scott Brison a returning MP from Nova Scotia who will serve as Treasury Board President.
• The Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau a rookie MP from Quebec who will serve as International Development and La francophonie.
• The Honourable Kent Hehr a rookie MP from Alberta who will serve as Veterans Affairs, and Associate Minister of National Defence.
• The Honourable MaryAnn Mihychuk a rookie MP from Manitoba who will serve as Employment Workforce Development and Labour Minister.
• The Honourable Amarjeet Sohi a rookie MP from Alberta who will serve as Infrastructure and Communities Minister.
• The Honourable Maryam Monsef a rookie MP from Ontario who will serve as Democratic Institutions Minister.
• The Honourable Carla Qualtrough a rookie MP from B.C. who will serve as Sport, and Persons with Disabilities Minister.
• The Honourable Hunter Tootoo a rookie MP from Nunavut who will serve as Fisheries and Oceans, and Canadian Coast Guard Minister.
• The Honourable Kirsty Duncan a returning MP from Ontario who will serve as Science Minister.
• The Honourable Patricia Hajdu a rookie MP from Ontario who will serve as Status of Women Minister.
• The Honourable Bardish Chagger a rookie MP from Ontario who will serve as Small Business and Tourism Minister.

Congratulations to each of these new ministers on their appointment and all the members of Canada’s 42^nd Parliament on their election victories. REALTORS®, we encourage you to personally send a letter of congratulations to your MP and our new Prime Minister through CREA’s call to action on the REALTOR® Action Network (RAN). Your letter will be delivered as part of a welcome package to each MP’s new Parliament Hill office and will go a long way to starting our industry off on the right foot this parliamentary session.

We welcome all new and returning MPs back to Ottawa! Who knows, maybe a few will be in the market to purchase a condo or townhouse for their four year stint in the capital, too.