Trudeau reshuffle puts first Syrian-Canadian minister in Cabinet

Omar Alghabra will serve as Minister of Transport as prime minister also appoints new foreign minister

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Tuesday a Cabinet reshuffle. AFP

Omar Alghabra became Canada's first minister of Syrian descent after he was appointed to the Cabinet by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in a reshuffle on Tuesday.

Mr Alghabra is also the first minister of Arab descent in the Cabinet since Pierre De Bane in the late 1970s, when Mr Trudeau's father Pierre was prime minister.

Previously parliamentary secretary to the prime minister, Mr Alghabra was first elected as the member of parliament for Mississauga Centre in 2015, and served as the member for Mississauga-Erindale from 2006 to 2008.

He takes over the transport ministry at a time when urgent decisions are needed on a possible bailout of Canada's struggling airlines, and on when to allow the Boeing 737 Max to fly again in Canadian airspace after two deadly overseas crashes.

Mr Alghabra "brings extensive experience to the Cabinet table", the prime minister's office said, noting his past work in the NGO and energy sectors and his background in engineering and business.

He has also been published in the Toronto Star and Huffington Post.

Mr Trudeau also replaced his foreign minister on Tuesday.

Former astronaut Marc Garneau left his transport ministry responsibilities to take over as foreign minister from Francois-Philippe Champagne, who became industry minister.

The swearing-in ceremony lasted minutes and was held on Zoom because of Covid-19 restrictions.

Departing science and industry minister Navdeep Bains's decision, for family reasons, not to run in the next election sparked the moves.

Mr Garneau brings to the foreign affairs portfolio extensive knowledge of the US, Canada's top trading partner, as president-elect Joe Biden prepares to move into the White House.

He offers strong international diplomatic experience from handling Canada's response to Iran shooting down a jetliner a year ago, which claimed the lives of dozens of Canadian nationals and permanent residents.

"Whether on Earth or in space, Marc has always represented Canada well," Mr Trudeau said.

The prime minister, who lost his majority in parliament in the 2019 election, has repeatedly told Canadians in recent months that a new ballot could be around the corner.

But Mr Trudeau insisted again on Tuesday that managing the pandemic was his government's top priority.

He denied local media reports that Liberal MPs have been told to prepare for an election in the spring.

"From the very beginning of any minority parliament, every political party understands that elections can happen," Mr Trudeau said.

"But as I've been consistently saying, we don't want an election.

"We need to continue to work hard and focus on Canadians, on delivering support, on keeping Canadians safe, on creating and continuing to deliver our strong plan that is going to bring the economy roaring back and make sure that Canadians get through this the right way.

"That's our focus and I certainly hope to be able to work constructively in parliament this winter and spring, to be able to deliver those things for Canadians."

Mr Trudeau's last Cabinet shuffle was in August 2020 after finance minister Bill Morneau's surprise resignation after ethics breaches related to his ties to a charity that handed out pandemic aid on behalf of the government.

The contract was cancelled after it was revealed that Mr Morneau's daughter worked for WE Charity.

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, who has been tipped to eventually succeed Mr Trudeau as prime minister, was given the finance job.