Cabinet shuffle sees MacAulay replace Jody Wilson-Raybould as veterans affairs minister
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
Many Canadian farmers woke up Friday to news of a new federal ag minister.
Prime Minister Trudeau shuffled his cabinet Friday morning, handing the agriculture portfolio to Marie-Claude Bibeau. She’s also Canada’s first female federal ag minister.
Bibeau takes over for Lawrence MacAulay, who will now handle the veterans affairs portfolio and assume the position of associate national defence minister.
Jody Wilson-Raybould’s resignation on Feb. 12 over the SNC-Lavalin situation created a vacancy in the veterans affairs department.
Bibeau, the MP for Compton-Stanstead in Quebec, was previously the minister of international development. Maryam Monsef, the minister for women and gender equality, will add the international development portfolio to her workload.
“In their new roles, the ministers will advance some of the Government of Canada’s top priorities,” Trudeau said in a statement.
Bibeau’s tenure as ag minister comes at an interesting time. Dairy producers are calling on the federal government for compensation because of market concessions made in recent trade deals.
“I come from a rural riding, a dairy riding, actually, in the south of Quebec, so I’m already very close to the agricultural producers in Quebec, I know quite a bit about supply management,” Bibeau said, CTV reported.
MacAulay wished Bibeau well as she represents Canadian farmers in Ottawa and abroad.
“I know (she) truly cares about farmers ang agriculture and (the ag community) will be extremely well-served in her leadership,” he said on Twitter.
Farm organizations including Grain Growers of Canada and the Canadian Federation of Agriculture thanked Minister MacAulay for his work and welcomed the new federal ag minister.
“We look forward to working with you to drive our industry forward and achieve our growth potential,” Grain Growers of Canada said on Twitter.