WHITEBOARDS TO RIDEAU HALL — Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU’s Cabinet shuffle will be revealed today, installing power, in the form of new calendars and to-do lists, to a fresh cohort of ministers.
Seven incumbent ministers will leave Cabinet and seven new faces will join it by the end of the morning. Housing is expected to get more prominence. It will be untethered from AHMED HUSSEN’s diversity and inclusion ministry and attached to a higher profile portfolio. Expect the Trudeau government to pay more attention to the Treasury Board, procurement, social development and employment in the lead up to the next election. — Why now, according to the PMO’s narrative: To improve communication in key portfolios that touch the economy as Trudeau works to reset the agenda post-Covid. — Why really now: There are 817 days until the next fixed date election in 2025. Trudeau’s Liberal government is halfway through its second minority mandate and Liberals sense a whupping in the next campaign on their economic record unless they make some changes. — Communications test: Trudeau is expected to frame the shuffle as a refresh of the team that will lead his Liberals to their fourth re-election — when the time comes. — Make way for Rideau Hall: By now, Privy Council Clerk JOHN HANNAFORD has called deputy ministers in the ministries involved in today’s shuffle to invite them to the swearing-in ceremony because they’re getting a new boss. Former clerk MICHAEL WERNICK tells Playbook that deputy ministers “kind of earn their pay” in these moments, serving as key players during the ministerial handoff and helping to ensure continuity in a department. — Lost in the details: Often overlooked on days like this is the quick offboarding of outgoing ministers and staff — and the logistics of sorting resources and equipment like cars, phones, laptops and keys to the office. — First, though: Trudeau will convene the first meeting of his newly refashioned Cabinet this afternoon. Time with family is often a top priority on a new Cabinet minister’s first day, Wernick says. “It's not like they're all going to plunge into briefings right away,” he tells Playbook. Those sessions will take place in the days and weeks ahead, depending on the minister. “I had STÉPHANE DION in ’96 show up directly from Rideau Hall in his backpack and jacket and we spent the whole afternoon briefing him,” Wernick said. “He’s a keener.” — Who’s staying put: A senior government official not authorized to speak about the shuffle publicly tells Playbook CHRYSTIA FREELAND and MÉLANIE JOLY won’t be moving. Leaks have named FRANÇOIS-PHILIPPE CHAMPAGNE and STEVEN GUILBEAULT as two ministers who will also keep their current portfolios. — Who’s out: CAROLYN BENNETT, HELENA JACZEK, OMAR ALGHABRA and JOYCE MURRAY have confirmed they’re not in it to win it for the next election. Media leaks have added MONA FORTIER, MARCO MENDICINO and DAVID LAMETTI’s names as others who aren’t re-offering. — What else: Globe reporting moves PABLO RODRIGUEZ to the transport beat with PASCALE ST-ONGE taking over heritage. CTV and other media sources place Emergency Preparedness Minister BILL BLAIR at defense. The Star has House Leader MARK HOLLAND taking over at health. Amidst the swirl on Tuesday, former minister CATHERINE MCKENNA tweeted: "Reminded how happy I am to be out of politics watching bonkers Cabinet shuffle speculation." — What’s next: New ministers will get briefing materials in the form of tablets and laptops. Physical binders were phased out around 2017, Wernick said. Those materials are essentially inherited to-do lists. They include notes on what’s on the Order Paper in Parliament, what bills they’re now responsible for, what tabling requirements they have, unfinished and pending appointments, court cases and decisions to be aware of, as well as international travel and obligations on their new calendar. “An early priority will be getting them connected to the secure networks so that classified documents can be sent back and forth to them wherever they are and secure conversations can take place,” he said. — Reality check: Briefings on personal safety will be prioritized. “You now enter the realm of being a target,” says Wernick, who wrote "Governing Canada: A Guide to the Tradecraft of Politics." “Home security systems might have to be ordered and a very thorough briefing on cybersecurity — and you are now the target of hackers and people who want to intercept your phone calls.” — Another reality check: Flushing the deck with new faces offers a sense of renewed energy to the team. But the optimism and sense of new possibilities doesn’t last forever, Wernick said. — New game, old center: If you’re a new minister without a team, you’re waiting for PMO to pick your chief of staff, Wernick said. “There was a distant time when ministers got to choose their own chiefs of staff. That's long gone.” New ministers will face a steep learning curve, joining a team that includes veterans who’ve been a part of Cabinet for eight years — with everyone sprinting toward an election that will happen within a two-year window. Wernick said people skills are what ultimately make or break new ministers, not their reputation as a savant on a handful of policy priorities. “Some of them are good at it. And some of them are not. Some of them take to it immediately,” he said. “Some never do.” Like Ottawa Playbook? Maybe you know others who’d like to start the day with a free rush of intel. Point them to this link where sign up is free. | 
