Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is losing four more cabinet ministers after two have already announced they won’t seek re-election, just as he is fending off a brewing caucus revolt.
A senior Liberal source said Thursday a cabinet shuffle is expected within weeks to replace the outgoing ministers. The source said that no firm date has been set for the changes.
National Revenue Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau and Filomena Tassi, minister for the federal economic development agency for Southern Ontario, both decided not to seek re-election, the source said.
Northern Affairs Minister Dan Vandal has also decided not to run in the next general election, another Liberal source with direct knowledge said.
The Globe and Mail is not identifying the sources because they were not permitted to disclose the still-private information.
Radio-Canada also reported Thursday that Sport and Physical Activity Minister Carla Qualtrough is not reoffering.
Some of the ministers are expected to make public statements on Thursday about their decisions. Ms. Tassi confirmed her announcement in a statement posted to social media, saying it was a “bittersweet decision” but that “it’s time for me to be closer to home with my family.”
The Hamilton-area MP thanked the Prime Minister for entrusting her with four ministerial posts over her tenure.
“I believed in him in 2015 and I believe in him now,” she said.
One of the sources said the decisions by the ministers were made weeks ago, but they at an inconvenient time for Mr. Trudeau.
The Globe reported on Wednesday that in the coming days, dissenting Liberal MPs plan to ask the Prime Minister to resign. Sources told The Globe that Liberal caucus members will also make appeals for Mr. Trudeau’s exit directly to the Prime Minister when he meets with his party behind closed doors next Wednesday.
The Prime Minister has already lost two key members of his cabinet. In July Mr. Trudeau’s longtime friend, Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan, announced he wouldn’t seek re-election and resigned immediately from cabinet. He was replaced as Minister by Steve MacKinnon.
Then two months later his senior Quebec minister, Pablo Rodriguez, quit to run for the provincial Liberal leadership. Mr. Rodriguez was replaced as Transport Minister by Anita Anand who now holds dual roles in cabinet. She is also Treasury Board President.
