OTTAWA — Four more Liberal ministers will not be seeking re-election in the next federal election, sources say, which will force Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to proceed with an imminent cabinet shuffle at a time when an internal caucus revolt is brewing.
As first reported by Radio-Canada, Minister of National Revenue Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Sport and Physical Activity Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Northern Affairs Dan Vandal and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario Filomena Tassi recently told Trudeau they will not be running again.
All four of them were first elected in 2015, and both Bibeau and Qualtrough have been in cabinet since then.
In a statement shared on X, Tassi said the reason for making this decision is “deeply personal” and that it is time for her to be closer to home with family. She had requested a lighter workload in 2022 after her husband had suffered two strokes.
Tassi called her decision to leave politics “bittersweet” and said she is “deeply grateful” to Trudeau for entrusting her with a variety of portfolios in cabinet.
“I am honoured that he believed in me and thank him for his understanding and empathy. I wish him the very best now and in the future. I believed in him in 2015 and I believe in him now,” she added in her statement.
Government sources confirmed that Vandal and Qualtrough will not be seeking re-election, and that they would be publishing statements later in the day.
Bibeau’s office said she was out of the country until next week, but a government source confirmed that she is not running again. Bibeau had previously hinted that she might be interested in running for municipal politics in Sherbooke but that she would first finish her mandate as an MP.
The source said that the four ministers each have “highly personal reasons” for not running again but they have nothing to do with Trudeau’s leadership.
CTV and Globe and Mail have already reported that Liberal MPs will be asking Trudeau to step down at their weekly caucus meeting next week, but it is unclear if the perspective of a cabinet shuffle might discourage some vying to become minister from coming forward.
Trudeau had already lost two senior ministers in recent months. Seamus O’Regan resigned from cabinet for personal reasons and was replaced as Minister of Labour by Steven MacKinnon this summer. Pablo Rodriguez resigned to run for the Quebec Liberal Party leadership and his position as Transport Minister was taken on by Anita Anand.
More to come…
— With files from Stephanie Taylor
National Post
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