 Sunday, May 11, 2025
Carney's building his A-Team. And maybe a B-Team
Prime Minister Mark Carney continues to race through several key agenda items. He flew down to Washington earlier this week and came out of meetings with U.S. President Donald Trump unscatched.
The two got along quite well, according to a senior Canadian official, and there an "encouraging sign" Trump sees Carney as an equal.
Now Carney's plugging away at his next big task: Assembling a new cabinet ready to take on issues at home and abroad and make good on promises made during the election campaign.
His post-election cabinet will be sworn in Tuesday at Rideau Hall at 10:30 a.m. ET by Gov. Gen. Mary Simon. It's very likely we won't know the full roster until moments before those Liberal MPs swear their oaths.
Three Liberal sources have told CBC News that Carney is considering a cabinet structure that involves a core group of senior ministers and a secondary group of ministers of state. Ashley Burke, David Cochrane and Peter Zimonjic have more on what that means.
Read on for that, plus what's coming up on Rosemary Barton Live... | | |  | Prime Minister Mark Carney and U.S. President Donald Trump engage in a meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C., Tuesday, May 6, 2025. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press) | | |  | Carney’s new cabinet could include tiered structure | | Ashley Burke, David Cochrane, Peter Zimonjic | | | | Prime Minister Mark Carney's new cabinet is expected to be larger than his first, but could include a tiered structure with a secondary ring of ministers.
Rideau Hall announced Friday that Carney and his cabinet will be sworn in Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. in Ottawa by Gov. Gen. Mary Simon.
Three Liberal sources tell CBC News that one of the options Carney's considering is selecting a core group of senior ministers and a secondary group of ministers of state.
Several past Canadian governments have used ministers of state in different capacities. The model is also used in the United Kingdom, where Carney used to work as the Governor of the Bank of England, and where they're considered mid-tier ministers.
A senior Liberal source said Carney is weighing using a core group of ministers who will meet more frequently and deal with central government issues. Whereas, ministers of state may not be given full government departments and could meet less often, the source said. | | |  | Prime Minister Mark Carney holds a press conference following a swearing in ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa on Friday, March 14, 2025. His new cabinet will be sworn in on Tuesday morning following the Liberal election win last month. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press) | | | A way to keep core cabinet small
Another source said this move is one way Carney could keep his core cabinet smaller than his predecessor Justin Trudeau, who had 40 people around the table last year. Carney cut the number of ministers in his first cabinet to 24.
Two of the sources also suggested Cyrus Reporter and Marc-André Blanchard are being considered or pursued for Carney's chief of staff.
Asked for comment Friday, Blanchard told CBC News that to his knowledge he's not being pursued and hasn't had any discussions about the role.
Blanchard served as ambassador and permanent representative of Canada to the United Nations from 2016 to 2020. Among his roles, Reporter served as Trudeau's chief of staff while he was the Liberal leader and as a senior adviser to his office.
Former public safety minister Marco Mendicino has been serving in that role — a choice that both Conservative and NDP leaders criticized.CBC News agreed not to name the sources because they weren't authorized to discuss details about the new cabinet. Carney has said he's committed to hitting gender parity in his next cabinet. His first cabinet included 13 men, including himself, and 11 women. That smaller cabinet faced pushback from advocacy groups upset that ministers solely dedicated to their issues were no longer around the table. Missing from those ministers in March were the titles women, gender equality, youth, official languages, diversity, inclusion, persons with disabilities and seniors — all included in Trudeau's cabinet. MPs earn an annual salary of $209,800, but the prime minister earns double that amount. Carney's cabinet ministers and ministers of state will see their base salary topped up with an additional $99,900, while secretaries of state in cabinet earn an additional $74,700. Lawmakers will return to the House of Commons on May 26, just 28 days after Canadians voted in the federal election, the second-shortest time on record after the 21-day wait following the 1988 federal election.
While Carney has been prime minister since March 14, he was only elected to the House of Commons April 28. During the campaign Carney promised quick action on a number of files that are expected to make this return to Parliament busy from the start.
Some of those promises include removing federal barriers to interprovincial trade by Canada Day and rolling out a "Canada Strong Pass" that will provide youth 17 and under free access to national galleries and museums along with free seats on Via Rail when travelling with their parents.
Carney has also promised to make access to national parks and historic sites free this summer, along with reduced pricing for camping access. | | | | | | | | | | | | |  | Coming up on Rosemary Barton Live | Rosemary Barton, CBC Chief Political Correspondent | | | | There are still lots of questions about that meeting between Mark Carney and Donald Trump.
Not least of which is what exactly will happen next.
The prime minister seems hopeful more constructive talks will happen with a better outcome for Canada.
One key part to those next steps will happen on Tuesday, when Carney will finally get to put his imprint on the government by choosing his own Cabinet.
Yes, he had one before, but he was working with the MPs elected under Justin Trudeau. This time there is a whole new slate of faces and experience for Carney to consider.
Some of the big players on the Canada-U.S. file will likely stay put to continue their work.
International Trade Minister Dominic Leblanc is likely to stay in his job given his connection to Howard Lutnick, Trump's secretary of commerce.
He was also at that meeting last week, and I talk to him about timelines and next steps.
We'll talk about trade, making cabinets and the future of the NDP too.
See you on RBL soon.
Rosie | | | More from CBC Politics |  | ANALYSIS: Is the promise of military icebreakers political theatre or sensible policy? | A former top naval commander and several defence experts have been left scratching their heads following the governing Liberals and the Opposition Conservatives recent embrace of the notion of giving the Royal Canadian Navy heavy, armed icebreakers to defend the Arctic. Read more from Murray Brewster. | | | | | Carney's campaign made big promises for AI. Will his government deliver? | Experts say they are encouraged by Prime Minister Mark Carney's campaign promises to invest in the technology. But they say that after establishing itself as a leader in the early decades of AI development, Canada risks falling farther behind other countries if his government doesn't deliver. Read more from David Cummings. | | | | | Conservative fundraising email suggests Liberals trying to 'tip the scales' in recounts | A Conservative Party fundraising email alleges the Liberals are trying to "tip the scales" in riding recounts, which language political watchers say is concerning as some Canadians say they don't trust the results of last week's election. Read more from Catharine Tunney. | | | | | Scheer doesn't seem keen to move into Stornoway, but says talks are 'ongoing' | Newly minted interim Opposition leader Andrew Scheer says talks are “ongoing” about the current Stornoway conundrum — but he doesn’t sound eager to move into the official residence. Read more from Darren Major. | | | | | Share this newsletter | | or subscribe if this was
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