[Canada] Canadian Politics Redux

[Jacob]

Carney has announced his cabinet.

There's a handful of new ministries centred on provincial/ regional Federal Economic Development... though none for Quebec, for some reason.

[Josephus]

Bit of a demotion for Freeland moving to Transport, no?

[Grey Fox]

Bit of a demotion for Freeland moving to Transport, no?

Yes, but it's her other mandate that is the real meat and potatoes assignment.

@Jacob, La Presse is saying that Quebec's economic development Minister is Joly.

[Jacob]

@Jacob, La Presse is saying that Quebec's economic development Minister is Joly.

Okay cool.

On the surface of it having a federal minister for economic development for each of the provinces/ regions makes a lot of sense to me. I expect there are wins to be had from more focused collaboration.

[crazy canuck]

@Jacob, La Presse is saying that Quebec's economic development Minister is Joly.

Okay cool.

On the surface of it having a federal minister for economic development for each of the provinces/ regions makes a lot of sense to me. I expect there are wins to be had from more focused collaboration.

Having members of the government responsible for individual regions is a long standing tradition.

[Jacob]

@Jacob, La Presse is saying that Quebec's economic development Minister is Joly.

Okay cool.

On the surface of it having a federal minister for economic development for each of the provinces/ regions makes a lot of sense to me. I expect there are wins to be had from more focused collaboration.

Having members of the government responsible for individual regions is a long standing tradition.

I see.

The CBC article lists each of these as new portfolios, so it seems the previous government did not follow that tradition; or if they did, they did so at a level lower than ministerial.

[Josephus]

Bit of a demotion for Freeland moving to Transport, no?

Yes, but it's her other mandate that is the real meat and potatoes assignment.

Oh, I didn't realize she was also Minister of Internal Trade...yes, this will be big.

[crazy canuck]

@Jacob, La Presse is saying that Quebec's economic development Minister is Joly.

Okay cool.

On the surface of it having a federal minister for economic development for each of the provinces/ regions makes a lot of sense to me. I expect there are wins to be had from more focused collaboration.

Having members of the government responsible for individual regions is a long standing tradition.

I see.

The CBC article lists each of these as new portfolios, so it seems the previous government did not follow that tradition; or if they did, they did so at a level lower than ministerial.

I think it's correct to say that the Trudeau government concentrated power so much within the PMO that although there were members of the government responsible for the regions, they did not matter.

I think Carney is trying to reverse that centralization of power in a substantial way.  It did not work very well. I also think he is trying to bring a different kind of emphasis to these regional ministers. Historically, they were called the political minister for the region.

For all practical purposes, they are still the political minister, overseeing the making of appointments and so forth for their region, but now there is an emphasis on economic development.

[crazy canuck]

Bit of a demotion for Freeland moving to Transport, no?

Yes, but it's her other mandate that is the real meat and potatoes assignment.

Oh, I didn't realize she was also Minister of Internal Trade...yes, this will be big.

I don't think so, Leblanc has the important portfolio of creating one Canadian economy and of interprovincial affairs.  This just lets her stay in Cabinet with a narrow portfolio.

[crazy canuck]

And to change the topic a bit, PP couldn't help himself.  In his press conference he started out well. He congratulated the people who had been appointed as Ministers, and if he had just said something like "and we will hold them to account" it would have been a good day for him. But he went into his old attack dog routine with personal attacks on a number of ministers.

[Barrister]

I think it's correct to say that the Trudeau government concentrated power so much within the PMO that although there were members of the government responsible for the regions, they did not matter.

I think Carney is trying to reverse that centralization of power in a substantial way. It did not work very well. I also think he is trying to bring a different kind of emphasis to these regional ministers. Historically, they were called the political minister for the region.

For all practical purposes, they are still the political minister, overseeing the making of appointments and so forth for their region, but now there is an emphasis on economic development.

CC, can I interest you in this very nice bridge?  Only one previous owner, motivated seller.

[Jacob]

I think it's correct to say that the Trudeau government concentrated power so much within the PMO that although there were members of the government responsible for the regions, they did not matter.

I think Carney is trying to reverse that centralization of power in a substantial way.  It did not work very well. I also think he is trying to bring a different kind of emphasis to these regional ministers. Historically, they were called the political minister for the region.

For all practical purposes, they are still the political minister, overseeing the making of appointments and so forth for their region, but now there is an emphasis on economic development.

That makes sense. Thanks for the additional context.

[Jacob]

BB do you expect Conservatives will reverse the trend to centralize power in the PMO if they come to power, or do you think the trend will hold across political lines?

[crazy canuck]

I think it's correct to say that the Trudeau government concentrated power so much within the PMO that although there were members of the government responsible for the regions, they did not matter.

I think Carney is trying to reverse that centralization of power in a substantial way. It did not work very well. I also think he is trying to bring a different kind of emphasis to these regional ministers. Historically, they were called the political minister for the region.

For all practical purposes, they are still the political minister, overseeing the making of appointments and so forth for their region, but now there is an emphasis on economic development.

CC, can I interest you in this very nice bridge?  Only one previous owner, motivated seller.

The benefit of having somebody who has had significant managerial responsibilities outside of government is that we have a sense of how he will do things.

From the reporting in the globe regarding his management style, we know a couple of things. First, he demands excellence from those who are reporting to him, and he requires that people come to meetings with their own ideas and solutions to the issues of the day so that they can be debated and a way forward is decided.

That is a very different model from ministers showing up to cabinet meetings to be told what they are going to do, which was the PMO governance model under Trudeau.

[Barrister]

BB do you expect Conservatives will reverse the trend to centralize power in the PMO if they come to power, or do you think the trend will hold across political lines?

1. The trend of centralizing power within the PMO goes back decades.  Trudeau, Harper, Chretien - I think at least Mulroney (Trudeau Sr is before my time).  So I find CC's assertion this will be reversed under Carney to be delightfully naïve just on the basis of history.

2. But more than that - Justin Trudeau's senior advisors are Mark Carney's senior advisors!  Gerald Butts and Katie Telford are right there alongside Carney.  The cabinet shuffle itself does nothing to suggest to me that Carney is anything other than a minor change from the Trudeau Liberal government before it.