On July 26, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau declared a cabinet shuffle, thus assigning new portfolios to present ministers & swearing in new ministers. Cabinet shuffles take place every two years. July’s shuffle stands apart not just for how consequential it is for the present government’s approval but also for the cultural & ethnic diversity reflected in Truedeau’s new cabinet. Read on below to learn how immigration & multiculturalism helped shape Trudeau’s new cabinet in the history of Canada. 

Trudeau’s New Cabinet: Portfolio Shuffles 

  • Anita Anand 

The first minister in Trudeau’s new cabinet is Anita Anand. She is Canada’s new treasury & board president. Having previously served as the Minister of National Defense & Receiver General of Canada, she is currently serving as the representative Member of Parliament for Oakville. 

Anita Anand was born in Nova Scotia. She is the daughter of an Indian Physician who migrated to Canada from Nigeria in the early 1960s. 

Before her political life began, Anita had an accomplished career as a professor at Queen’s University Faculty of Law. Further, she was a guest lecturer at Yale Law School & then she joined the University of Toronto Faculty of Law in 2006, thus serving as an associate dean of the university from 2007 to 2009. 

  • Ahmed Hussen 

Ahmed Hussen is the present Minister of International Development. 

Born & raised in Somalia, Hussen’s family decided to immigrate to Canada in 1993, fleeing the violence of Somalia’s civil war. After spending over 2 years in Kenya, he came to Canada, where his older brothers resided. 

Earlier, he worked/ served as the Minister of Housing & Diversity & Inclusion, Minister of Families, Social Development & Children, & Minister of Immigration, Refugees, & Citizenship. In addition, he also serves as the MP for the dynamic riding of York South – Weston. 

  • Kamal Khera 

Kamal Khera is the new Minister of Inclusion, Diversity, & People with Disabilities. 

An Indian immigrant, Kamal Khera was born in New Delhi & primarily arrived in Canada at the age of 10. 

She is one of the youngest women (26 years) ever to be elected to Canadian politics earning a seat as MP for Brampton West. In addition, she previously served as parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Health, Minister of Revenue, & Minister of International Development. Before becoming the Minister of Diversity, she also served as the Minister of Seniors. 

  • Mary Ng

Mary Ng is the newly appointed Minister of Export Promotion, Economic Development, & International Trade. 

Ng was born in British Hong Kong in 1969 & is the eldest of three siblings. At the age of 7, their family immigrated to Canada, where they first established a family restaurant. 

She has an expansive 20-year career in public services. In addition, she worked in the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General, the Ontario Cabinet Office, & served as the Director of Policy to the Ontario Education Minister. Since 2017, she has also represented Markham – North Hill.

  • Pablo Rodriguez 

Pablo Rodriguez is the new Transport Minister. 

Born in San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina, his family fled the place when Pablo was just eight years after his family was bombed during the ‘Dirty War’ due to Rodroguez’s father’s activism against the military junta. 

Before becoming the Minister of Transport, Rodriguez served as the Minister of Cultural Heritage, Chief Government Whip, & Leader Of The Government House Of Commons. He has also represented the Quebec rising of Honore-Mercier since 2015, along with serving as Quebec’s Lieutenant of the Liberal Party. 

  • Harjit S. Sajjan 

Harjit S. Sajjan is the Minister of Emergency Preparedness & the President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada. 

Sajjan was born in Punjab, India on September 6, 1970. At age five, he, along with his mother & elder sister, migrated to Canada, joining their father, who was in British Columbia. 

Before his present post in the federal government, he had a long career in Military & Police Enforcement, serving as the Minister of Veterans Affairs, Minister of International Development, & Minister of National Defense. Moreover, he also represents the British Columbia riding of Vancouver South since his election in 2015. 

New Cabinet Ministers 

  • Gary Anandasangaree 

Gary Anandasangaree is the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations. He was preceded in this role by the present Minister of Immigration, Refugees, & Citizenship – Marc Miller. 

Gary belongs to the Sri Lankan Heritage who arrived in Canada as a refugee with his mother in 1983 to escape the violence of Black July Anti-Tamil riots that had swept through the country. 

Before his present role, he had an extensive career as a lawyer & human rights activist. He also served intermittently as the parliamentary secretary to the former Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations – Carolyn Bennet.  

  • Soraya Martinez Ferrada 

Soraya Martinez Ferrada has been appointed as the Minister of Tourism. 

Born in 1972, she was raised in Chile before immigrating to Montreal’s East End in 1980 at the age of eight. 

Before becoming the Minister of Tourism, she also worked in the office of the Montreal City Councillor & was the Minister accountable for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for Quebec. Since 2019, Martinez has represented the Quebec riding for Hochelaga.     

  • Ya’ara Saks 

Ya’ara Saks is the recently designated Minister of Mental Health & Addictions as well as Associate Minister of Health. 

As a dual citizen of Israel as well as Canada, Saks has resided in both nations & is the first MP to hold two citizenships.

Before her political career began, she owned a Yoga Studio in New York, teaching health & wellness to people along with working as a Director for Trauma Practice for Healthy Communities. It is a charity that concentrates on community & family mental health. In addition, she has also been representing the Ontario riding of York Centre since 2020.

  • Rechie Valdez 

Rechie Valdez is the recent Minister of Small Businesses.

Born in Zambia in the year 1980, Rechie was the first Filipino-Canadian Woman to serve in the Canadian Parliament. Her family first immigrated to Zambia before arriving in Canada.     

Before entering political life, she had a career in the financial sector before transitioning to entertaining, wherein she competed in the Food Network Canada cooking show ‘The Big Cake’. 

In addition, she has also represented the Ontario riding of Streetsville since 2020. 

  • Arif Virani 

The final minister in Trudeau’s new cabinet is Arif Virani. He is the Minister of Justice & Attorney General of Canada. 

Arif Virani was born in Uganda & arrived in Canada as a refugee in the year 1972 after the exodus. Initially arriving in humble condition, his family resided at Stanley Street YMCA in Montreal before settling in Toronto. 

Before being appointed the minister, he also served as the parliamentary secretary to the previous Minister of Justice & Attorney General, Minister of Immigration, Refugees, & Citizenship, & Minister of Canadian Heritage. Since 2015, Virani has represented the Ontario riding of Parkdale – High Park.