Canada: Justin Trudeau to unveil new cabinet on Oct 26, parliament will reopen on Nov 22

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to announce a new cabinet on October 26 to push the parliamentarians into a third mandate that focuses on the fight against COVID-19 and rebuilding efforts to fix the North American country’s pandemic battered economy. In a press statement on Friday, early morning, Trudeau’s office announced that the Prime Minister will unveil the roster of cabinet ministers on October 26th and the Canadian parliament is expected to resume by next month, i.e. November 22.

The parliament will officially be recalled on November 22, and the MPs and ministers will have at least a month to settle in their roles and responsibilities. As the Canadian PM announced the formation of the cabinet, two months after the elections on September 20, the opposition parties slammed the leader for having a "lackadaisical attitude" in getting back to work. Trudeau’s Liberal Party secured minority government during the tough elections fought last month.

COVID vaccination top priority: Officials

Moreover, the new government will have the COVID-19 vaccinations as their top priority. “The Government of Canada is committed to delivering on these priorities as we build back a better country,” the statement read. It further informed that the new government will remain “gender-balanced,” and will continue to deliver for Canadians. With the reconvening of Parliament, the Government of Canada will also deliver a new Throne Speech, which will lay out the government’s progressive plan to finish the fight against COVID-19 and build a better future, PM’s office said in the press document. 

“Over 82 percent of eligible Canadians are now fully vaccinated, but our fight against COVID-19 is not over. That is why the government has outlined five vaccination commitments for the first 100 days following the swearing-in of the new Cabinet,” the statement from Justin Trudeau’s office informed.

It added that the Prime Minister and the new Cabinet will “continue their work to build a better and fairer Canada, including by engaging with the remaining provinces and territories who have not yet signed $10-a-day child care agreements.” 

The new cabinet will be re-introducing legislation to ban harmful conversion therapy, and it will also approve a 10-day paid sick leave for all federally regulated workers. Trudeau’s cabinet will also work across the provinces and territories on a better sick leave policy for Canadians, put homeownership back in reach for Canadians, accelerate climate action to build a cleaner country, and create new middle-class jobs. Furthermore, the prime Minister’s office informed that he had reached out to the opposition leaders to discuss the priorities in phone calls to take place early next week.