Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Official Languages Randy Boissonnault takes questions from reporters before a meeting of the Liberal caucus on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Oct. 9.Justin Tang/The Canadian Press
Randy Boissonnault, who has been under fire over his connection to a problem-plagued company he previously co-owned as well as his past descriptions of his family’s Indigenous history, is no longer in the federal cabinet.
The announcement followed several days of scrutiny after Mr. Boissonnault apologized for his shifting understanding of his own family’s ancestry and a revelation this week that the Edmonton police are investigating an allegation of fraud involving his former company and business partner.
“The member for Edmonton Centre has stepped down from cabinet to focus on clearing these allegations,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told the House of Commons.
Just minutes before Question Period, Mr. Trudeau’s office released a statement that said “the Prime Minister and MP Randy Boissonnault have agreed that Mr. Boissonnault will step away from Cabinet effective immediately.”
Mr. Boissonnault was the minister of employment, workforce development and official languages. Veterans Affairs Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor will take on Mr. Boissonnault’s responsibilities.
As recently as Tuesday, Mr. Trudeau was defending Mr. Boissonnault, telling reporters that he was “happy” that the minister was continuing to lead on issues related to jobs and employment and representing Alberta.
The Edmonton Centre MP was first elected in 2015 and was defeated in 2019. He was re-elected in the 2021 federal election and elevated to cabinet that year.
In between his two terms as an MP, he was a co-owner of a company called Global Health Imports, which described itself as an Indigenous company in a 2020 bid for a government contract to supply face masks, according to a National Post report.
His departure means the province of Alberta is not currently represented in cabinet. Mr. Boissonnault is one of two Liberal MPs representing an Alberta riding. The other is Calgary Skyview MP George Chahal, who was among a group of MPs who publicly called for a secret ballot vote within the Liberal caucus on whether Mr. Trudeau should step down as party leader.
Global News reported Tuesday that the Edmonton Police Service is investigating a July 31 complaint regarding a failed transaction with Global Health Imports that was filed by Michael Weber, a Florida-based lawyer who is representing a medical-supply procurement company called 4M Medical LLC.
Mr. Weber confirmed to The Globe Wednesday that he submitted the police report.
Edmonton Police Service spokesperson Cheryl Sheppard said in an e-mail to The Globe that the force is investigating. “I can confirm that the EPS received a complaint regarding a fraud involving a local medical supply company on July 31, 2024. This investigation remains active at this time,” she said.
Mr. Boissonnault has denied any wrongdoing with respect to GHI. He said he was not involved in federal contracting when he was with the company, did not approve the decision to describe the company as Indigenous and was not involved in company decisions after he was re-elected to Parliament.
He has blamed all problems related to GHI on his former business partner, Stephen Anderson, who he has accused of conducting himself “in an unacceptable manner.”
“I regret my error in judgement in having gone into business with Mr. Anderson,” Mr. Boissonnault said in an Nov. 8 statement.
Mr. Boissonnault was not in Question Period Wednesday.
A phone number for Mr. Anderson listed in a GHI corporate report was not in service when The Globe called Wednesday.
Opinion: The Randy Boissonnault scandal has become a clown show
During a committee appearance in July, Mr. Anderson said he first met Mr. Boissonnault on a flight from Montreal to Edmonton in 2019 and Mr. Boissonnault has not had anything to do with GHI since he was re-elected.
“Mr. Boissonnault and I have been in touch a grand total of six times since he was re-elected, each time about birthday wishes or some trivial personal matter,” he told MPs.
Mr. Boissonnault, who was adopted, held a news conference Friday in Edmonton where he apologized “for not being as clear” about his family history as he could have been.
He has previously described his great-grandmother as a “full-blooded Cree woman,” but now says that was not accurate. He said that his mother and brother are now citizens of the Métis Nation of Alberta.
On Parliament Hill the news of Mr. Boissonnault’s ouster was welcomed by NDP MPs, who said it was long overdue.
Edmonton NDP MP Blake Desjarlais, who had called for the minister’s resignation on Tuesday, accused the ex-minister of “race-shifting.”
“If you pretend to be Indigenous for the purpose of accessing Indigenous benefits, funding or prestige, you will be found out. We will find you. We will ensure that your reputation and the benefits you’ve received from pretending to be Indigenous are removed,” he said.
Mr. Desjarlais, who is Métis, said the former minister should be investigated by House of Commons committees. He said he is concerned by the false claims of Indigenous identity as well as the allegations now being investigated by Edmonton police.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre contrasted Wednesday’s cabinet news with the 2019 falling out between Mr. Trudeau and former minister Jody Wilson-Raybould, who called this week for Mr. Boissonnault to be dropped from cabinet.
“Why is it that he fired a real Indigenous attorney general for telling the truth while trying to keep in place a fake Indigenous minister who told falsehoods?” Mr. Poilievre asked.
Ministers and other Liberal MPs appeared caught off guard by Mr. Boissonnault’s exit. Earlier in the day they were still defending their colleague.
Labour Minister Steve MacKinnon told reporters after Question Period that he didn’t know what changed in the Prime Minister’s thinking between Tuesday and Wednesday. He said Mr. Boissonnault is a hardworking colleague, whom he values.
Health Minister Mark Holland said the ministerial ouster will give the Edmonton MP the time he needs to defend himself.
“It would have been very hard for him to both do his job and to take an opportunity to defend himself personally,” Mr. Holland said. “This allows him to focus on that and make sure that information gets corrected.”
With a report from Stephanie Chambers