Montrealers in the mix for Trudeau’s first cabinet
Prominent potential choices come from a wide range of backgrounds
Of all the Montreal Liberals elected to the House of Commons, three are likely to make it into Justin Trudeau’s first cabinet, as he tries to balance old and new, male and female, and represent all regions.
A lawyer, a professor and an astronaut, each with their own trajectories to becoming MPs, are expected to be key figures in Trudeau’s government.
MÉLANIE JOLY
Age: 36 Alma mater: Université de Montréal, Oxford Neighbourhood she calls home: Mile End
Twitter: 12,200 followers
Career before politics: Lawyer, public relations entrepreneur
Political experience: In 2013, she came in second behind Denis Coderre in Montreal’s mayoral election obtaining 26.50% of the votes, under the banner of “vrai changement” or real change, a slogan Trudeau then picked up. She helped Trudeau with his election campaign, and beat out three other party members to win the nomination for Liberal candidate in Ahuntsic-Cartierville.
Fun fact: her Wikipedia entry lists her religion as “attorney.”
She got her letter of recommendation for Oxford from none other than former Quebec premier Lucien Bouchard, her mentor at law firm Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg.
Skeleton in the closet: After coming second in the municipal election, her party asked to be reimbursed for an event held at a spa — including massages and wine for supporters — and for alcohol served at another fundraising event for which participants bought tickets. When her claim came to light in a TVA report, she withdrew it.
She also said she would not jump from municipal to federal politics. Then she did.
Riding: She won the federal riding of Ahuntsic-Cartierville in the 2015 Canadian federal elections with 46.6% of the votes cast.
STÉPHANE DION
Age: 60 Alma mater: Université Laval, Sciences Po (Paris)
Neighbourhood he calls home: Outremont
Twitter: 4,253 followers Career before politics: Political
science professor
Political experience: was leader of the Liberal Party and leader of the official opposition, 2006 to 2008, and minister of the environment from 2004 to 2006. Also known (and despised by some) for presenting the Clarity Act to the House of Commons in 1999.
Fun fact: has a husky dog named Kyoto. He wasn’t the first pet
Kyoto, though. Another Liberal environment minister, David Anderson, had a schnauzer named Kyoto who was bought one week after Canada ratified the Kyoto Protocol.
Skeleton in the closet: Was intergovernmental affairs minister — aka national unity minister — under prime minister Jean Chrétien during the Liberal sponsorship scandal. He was exonerated of any wrongdoing but he subsequently seemed to defend Marc-Yvan Coté and Jean Pelletier, both of whom were implicated by the Gomery Commission.
Riding: MP for St. Laurent/Cartierville from 1996 to 2015, elected in new riding of St. Laurent in 2015 with 61.6 per cent of votes.
MARC GARNEAU
Age: 66
Alma mater: Royal Military College of Canada, Imperial College London
Neighbourhood he calls home: Westmount Twitter: 23,200 followers
Career before politics: Astronaut (First Canadian astronaut to travel to outer space), navy engineer
Political experience: An MP since 2008, Garneau ran for leadership of the Liberal Party in 2013, but later withdrew his bid and supported Justin Trudeau. He was Natural Resources Critic in 2012, then named co-chair of the Liberal International Affairs Council of Advisors to Trudeau.
Fun fact: Two Ontario high schools are named after Garneau, as is a spaceship in one of the Star Trek books (Millennium: The Fall of Terok Nor)
Skeleton in the closet: No skeletons here, just some signs of impatience. During the 2011 federal election, Garneau conceded defeat to his NDP rival, Joanne Corbeil, around midnight when she was a few hundred votes ahead. He was ultimately declared the victor at 2:15 a.m. by 658 votes. The next day he tweeted: “For those who might be understandably confused, I was re-elected last night.”
Riding: has been the MP for the riding of Westmount-Ville Marie since 2008. In October, he was elected MP for the new riding of Notre Dame de Grâce-Westmount.