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Prime Minister Mark Carney in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in October.Spencer Colby/The Canadian Press
Prime Minister Mark Carney will shuffle his cabinet today after the resignation of Steven Guilbeault, who served as minister of Canadian identity and culture.
Mr. Guilbeault left the post Thursday over concerns the government was walking away from efforts to combat climate change.
He was also the minister responsible for official languages, minister of nature and Parks Canada, as well as Mr. Carney’s Quebec lieutenant.
The swearing-in ceremony is scheduled for 3 p.m. at Rideau Hall.
Mr. Guilbeault’s decision to resign from cabinet followed the signing of a new energy accord between Ottawa and Alberta.
Opinion: The Alberta-Ottawa energy deal marks a major shift in Canadian politics
The energy deal provides for the cancellation of the oil and gas emissions cap, the suspension of clean electricity regulations and the potential lifting of a ban on oil tanker traffic for a new bitumen pipeline.
The memorandum of understanding with Alberta also sees the province commit to a more stringent industrial carbon pricing system and the phased-in construction of a massive carbon capture and storage project to help reduce emissions.
The memorandum of understanding with Alberta also sees the province commit to a more stringent industrial carbon pricing system and the phased-in construction of a massive carbon capture and storage project to help reduce emissions.
But a statement laying out the reasons for his resignation, Mr. Guilbeault said that was a mistake, and lifting the clean electricity regulations would see emissions climb.
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Liberal MP Steven Guilbeault resigned from Mr. Carney’s cabinet over the government’s energy accord with Alberta.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
Mr. Guilbeault served as environment minister in the last Liberal government but was placed in charge of new portfolios after the spring election.
He remains the MP for Laurier–Sainte-Marie, where he was first elected in 2019.
“When I entered politics, it was because I had a deep conviction that I could make a difference in fighting climate change and protecting our environment,” he said in his statement last week.
“My commitment to leaving a better world for the future of our children and our planet remains unchanged.”
Mr. Guilbeault is the second cabinet minister to leave since the Liberals were re-elected with a minority government in April.
Former transport and internal trade Minister Chrystia Freeland left cabinet in September to become the Special Representative for the Reconstruction of Ukraine and her responsibilities were split.
Government House Leader Steven MacKinnon added the transport file to his job, and internal trade went to Dominic LeBlanc, the intergovernmental affairs minister who is also in charge of Canada-U.S. trade.
