And who are you, exactly?
POLL SHOWS WHICH CABINET MINISTERS CANADIANS LIKE AND DISLIKE — OR AT LEAST THE ONES THEY CAN IDENTIFY
Most Canadians wouldn’t recognize some of their country’s most senior government ministers if they were next in line at the grocery store.
More than half of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet, tasked with managing billions of taxpayer dollars, are unrecognizable to the public, according to a new Angus Reid Institute poll, taken online with a “representative randomized sample” of 2,425 members of the Angus Reid Forum.
And the survey says the guy people recognize the most, Finance Minister Bill Morneau, is overwhelmingly disliked.
After the Liberal government released its own, mostly favourable report card, we’ve picked out key ministers to see how Canadians really feel about their government.
FINANCE MINISTER BILL MORNEAU
The Verdict: Along with Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan, Morneau is the most well-known minister, although he’d probably prefer not to be. The finance minister has been dogged by an ethics controversy related to shares he owned in Morneau Shepell, the company he used to run. Twenty-three per cent of people who are aware of Morneau think he’s doing a good job, compared to 46 per cent who think he’s performing poorly.
FOREIGN MINISTER CHRYSTIA FREELAND
The Verdict: Chrystia Freeland, tasked with the Canada-United States file and a rejigging of the North American Free Trade Agreement, is “receiving the most praise from the Canadian public on the whole,” Angus Reid concludes, even though only 56 per cent can identify her from a photo. Of people who recognize Freeland — one of the faces of Canada’s government abroad — 46 per cent say she’s doing a good job and 23 per cent aren’t as wowed. That’s the inverse of Morneau’s results.
DEFENCE MINISTER HARJIT SAJJAN
The Verdict: Seven-in-10 Canadians can recognize the minister. Harjit Sajjan’s file is challenging: although he unveiled a new defence policy early this year that commits significant new funding to the portfolio, he has also seen a few embarrassing moments, like having to apologize for claiming he was an “architect” of a particular Afghanistan op. On balance, Sajjan is doing pretty well: only 25 per cent of those who know him think he’s doing badly, compared to 40 per cent who say he’s doing well.
CATHERINE McKENNA, ENVIRONMENT
The Verdict: Although she’s the figurehead for the Liberal carbon tax plan — which is getting less popular as it inches closer to coming into effect in 2019 — McKenna is one of the bestknown and best-performing ministers, according to Canadians. Sixty-three per cent know who she is and, of those, 38 per cent say she’s doing a good job, with 24 per cent saying the opposite. In early November, McKenna confronted a reporter from right-wing news site The Rebel, demanding the outlet stop referring to her as “climate Barbie.”
PUBLIC SAFETY MINISTER RALPH GOODALE
The Verdict: Goodale’s first stint in the Commons came in 1974 and he’s been a fixture of the last two Liberal governments, so it makes sense that he’s a top five minister in terms of name recognition. Sixty-two per cent of Canadians are aware of Goodale and, as public safety minister, he also leads the pack in terms of approval rating. Forty-five per cent of Canadians say he’s doing a good job and 21 per cent say he’s doing a bad job, which adds up to a 24-point net approval.
MARC GARNEAU, TRANSPORT
The Verdict: Even though he was literally an astronaut, Canada’s transport minister was only recognized by two-thirds of the respondents. That still makes him the third-most-known member of cabinet. Garneau has performed steadily and avoided major flubs, handling the chairmanship of a committee dealing with cross-border migrants and a big file that includes a new air passenger bill of rights. Those who can identify him are more likely to say he’s doing a good job, at 37 per cent, than a bad one, at 18 per cent.
INFRASTRUCTURE MINISTER AMARJEET SOHI
The Verdict: The Liberals’ lone Alberta minister and the arbiter of literally billions in cash for major infrastructure projects is one of the least-recognized members of Trudeau’s cabinet. Sohi has remained largely outside of the spotlight and this might explain why little more than a third of respondents couldn’t pick him out of a crowd. Of those, people seem vaguely unimpressed, with a net -2 approval rating.
REVENUE MINISTER DIANE LEBOUTHILLIER
The Verdict: Diane Lebouthillier is one of the leastknown ministers, with only 39 per cent of Canadians aware of who she is, and she has a performance rating so low that it’s second only to Bill Morneau’s rating. Lebouthillier is in charge of the Canada Revenue Agency, which may explain the ill will because, let’s face it, nobody likes the taxman. It may also be that, under her watch, the agency has been courting controversy by cracking down on various tax loopholes and denying sufferers of Type 1 diabetes when they apply for a disability tax credit.
SEAMUS O’REGAN, VETERANS AFFAIRS
The Verdict: Former broadcaster Seamus O’Regan scores high on the name-recognition chart, but he’s one of a handful of ministers with a negative net approval rating. O’Regan is barely on the negative side, with a -1 rating, and 55 per cent of Canadians aware of him. Although the Liberals promised action on veterans’ pensions during the election campaign, some veterans are starting to feel let down, CBC reported recently. O’Regan has made headlines for reasons outside his portfolio. In January 2016, he went to rehab after admitting a drinking problem. During the holidays last year, he joined Trudeau on a vacation to the Aga Khan’s private island.
KARINA GOULD, DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTIONS
The Verdict: Canada’s youngest-ever female cabinet minister is the leastknown in Trudeau’s gender-parity cabinet. Fewer than 30 per cent of Canadians know Karina Gould well enough to offer an opinion, and among them, she faces net disapproval of -7. It hasn’t been an easy job: after taking the ministry in January Gould was almost immediately tasked with breaking the news that Liberals wouldn’t pursue a new federal voting system.