Minister of Labour and Seniors Steve MacKinnon participates in a media availability after a cabinet swearing-in ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa, on July 19.Justin Tang/The Canadian Press
Long-time Liberal Steve MacKinnon was sworn into cabinet as Minister of Labour and Seniors on Friday in a small shuffle that was forced by the surprise resignation of Seamus O’Regan.
Mr. MacKinnon has been the MP for Gatineau, Que., since 2015 and was previously the Liberal Party of Canada’s national director. For the past seven months, he has served in cabinet as House Leader, filling in for Karina Gould, who was on maternity leave.
Prior to that, Mr. MacKinnon was the government’s whip in the House.
During his short stint as House Leader, Mr. MacKinnon was credited with navigating the minority Parliament and ensuring that government legislation got passed.
Earlier this week, a senior government official told The Globe and Mail that the Prime Minister’s Office was looking for a way to keep him in cabinet after Ms. Gould’s return. The Globe is not identifying the source because they were not permitted to disclose the government’s internal plans.
Mr. MacKinnon arrived at Rideau Hall Friday accompanied by his wife. “It’s always an honour,” he told reporters on his way to being sworn into cabinet.
In a by-election last month, the Liberals lost a seat in Toronto for the first time since 2015. The defeat has sparked renewed calls for the Prime Minister to step down or enact major changes to either his staff, cabinet or policies. However, nearly a month after the loss, Mr. Trudeau has yet to signal that any changes are coming.
Mr. MacKinnon told reporters there was no major move within the Liberal caucus to have the Prime Minister leave, insisting that Canadians will reward the government for its policies such as dental care and climate change in the next election, scheduled for October, 2025.
“I am here to tell you today that this caucus is four-square behind our leader. This caucus is four-square behind the policies that we have adopted and proud of the record we have,” he said. “We have obviously a challenging political situation. We are going to bring in sharper relief the contrast and choices Canadians will have to make when they go the polls in the next election.”
Mr. O’Regan surprised Liberals when he announced Thursday that he was leaving cabinet for family reasons.
“My family comes first,” he said in a statement. “I need to be a better husband, son, uncle, and friend, and this job means, and deserves, a lot of time in order to do it well.”
Mr. O’Regan, a former television host is a long-time friend of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, serving as a groomsman in his wedding to Sophie Grégoire Trudeau.
According to the latest polling, the Liberals trail Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives by double-digits.
For example, the latest data from Nanos Research shows support for the Official Opposition at 42 points, compared with the Liberals at 25 points and the NDP at 17 points. The survey is conducted on a four-week rolling average, with 1,000 respondents. Its margin of error is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.