Federal Cabinet Shuffle: The Impact on Alberta
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It isn’t often we touch on exclusively federal stories in Insights, but the largest Cabinet shuffle of the Prime Minister Justin Trudeau era definitely warrants a discussion.
Yes, there are changes that Alberta organizations ought to be cognizant of.
First, and most obviously, it is important to note that there is still Alberta representation in the Liberal Cabinet. Minister Randy Boissonnault (Edmonton-Centre) remains at the decision-making table as the new minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Official Languages.
The only other Alberta Liberal (George Chahal) remains on the backbench.
Minister Steven Guilbeault remains as Minister of Environment and Climate Change - unsurprising given his very recent meeting with Alberta Environment Minister Rebecca Schulz. He has been a key member of the Trudeau Cabinet and appears to remain locked-in until the next federal election.
The other change that will catch the eye of the province is the new minister of Energy and Natural Resources. That file now belongs to North Vancouver MP Jonathan Wilkinson.
He was the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change from 2015 - 2018 before coming the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard. In 2019, he was shuffled to Environment and Climate Change. Finally, he became Minister of Natural Resouces in 2021.
So, while much of his role will remain the same, adding the energy tag to his title comes with certain implications. With the prominence of hydrogen expected to arrive in the near future along with continued head-butting with the oil and gas provinces, this is a signal that the federal government intends to take a strong position on the future of energy in the country.
