Hill Climbers
Carney PMO transition continues, staff await word
Heading into the May 13 cabinet shuffle, staffing in Prime Minister Mark Carney’s office was still in a state of transition, with a chief of staff still yet to be announced and made official.
When former Liberal minister Marco Mendicino was named to the role shortly after Carney’s election as Liberal leader this past March, Mendicino’s appointment was described as temporary to help Carney with the transition into office.
Media reports at the time indicated Mendicino’s hiring did not go over well with all Liberal caucus members, with some unhappy due to Mendicino’s pro-Israel stance as well as the fact he had previously been removed from then-prime minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet amid controversy.
Then still a sitting MP at the time his appointment was announced, Mendicino had already indicated he did not plan to seek re-election. In order to be officially hired (and paid) to serve as Carney’s chief of staff, Mendicino resigned his seat early, effective March 14—the same day Carney was sworn in as prime minister.
During the election, Mendicino was part of the team that stayed behind to keep the lights on in the Prime Minister’s Office.
Speculation over who will be named as Carney’s chief of staff has been swirling since the April 28 election, with a couple of familiar names in the mix.
While a chief of staff is expected to be announced shortly, with no one officially in place, staff currently at work in the PMO—like deputy chief of staff Braeden Caley, principal secretary Tom Pitfield, director of policy Tim Krupa, and senior adviser for Canada-United States relations Lisa Jørgensen—continue to do so in a transitional capacity, at least for now.
Hill Climbers understands that no new permanent letters of offer have yet been signed by the PMO staff. Those will go out once the chief of staff is named.
Around 90 staff worked in Trudeau’s PMO at the end of his tenure leading the government.
With Carney’s new cabinet sworn in on May 13, hiring across government will be ramping up.
Carney’s first cabinet—named in March—consisted of 24 ministers. His new front bench heading into the 45th Parliament includes 28 ministers, and 10 secretaries of state.
Under Trudeau’s final 36-member cabinet—a roster that did not include any secretaries, or ministers, of state—staffing levels ranged between the various portfolios, with some offices staffed by as few as around 10 individuals and others by upwards of around 30. Altogether, there were roughly 750 staffers working in cabinet offices and the PMO.
Stay tuned to Hill Climbers for updates as decisions are finalized.
Carney’s second cabinet includes at least three ex-federal staffers as first-time ministers.
New Health Minister Marjorie Michel, who was elected in Trudeau’s former seat of Papineau, Que., on April 28, was previously a senior cabinet staffer and most recently deputy chief of staff in Trudeau’s PMO. Michel is also the daughter of former Haitian prime minister Smarck Michel.
Secretary of State for Labour John Zerucelli, who was elected in Etobicoke North, Ont., is a former senior adviser and director of operations in Trudeau’s PMO. And Secretary of State for Children and Youth Anna Gainey, who is married to Pitfield and was re-elected in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce-Westmount, Que., previously worked as a staffer under the Paul Martin Liberal government and served as Liberal Party president from 2014 to 2018.
Another ex-staffer becomes first-time MP
Speaking of former staffers taking seats on the other side of the desk, there’s one more ex-staffer turned first-time MP to report: Liberal Tatiana Auguste, who was recently declared the winner in Terrebonne, Que., by a single vote after a judicial recount, which flipped the seat previously declared for Bloc Québécois incumbent Nathalie Sinclair-Desgagne.
Up until this past March, Auguste was an assistant to then-Bourassa, Que., Liberal MP Emmannuel Dubourg. Dubourg, who is married to Michel (who also once worked for him), opted not to seek re-election this year.
Including Auguste, that makes at least eight former staffers who have been elected as first-time MPs this year. As previously reported, the others are: Michel; Zerucelli; Liberal Marianne Dandurand in Compton-Stanstead, Que.; Liberal Leslie Church in Toronto-St. Paul’s, Ont.; Liberal Fares Al Soud in Mississauga Centre, Ont.; Liberal Chi Nguyen in Spadina-Harbourfront, Ont.; and Conservative Grant Jackson in Brandon-Souris, Man.
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