Cabinet shuffle: Bardish Chagger becomes first female government House leader

Liberal MP for Waterloo Bardish Chagger has been named the new government House leader, replacing veteran MP Dominic LeBlanc in the high-profile position.

Chagger, who will retain her position in cabinet as minister of small business and tourism, becomes the first woman – and the first visible minority Canadian – to hold the House leader’s job. At 36, she is also a rookie MP and one of the youngest people to take on the role.

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LeBlanc was moved to the fisheries and oceans file when Nunavut MP Hunter Tootoo was dismissed from cabinet and the Liberal caucus in late May. Tootoo struggled with alcohol addiction, and allegedly had an inappropriate relationship with a staff member, leading to his departure.

LeBlanc had been carrying out Tootoo’s duties since then, acting as both House leader and minister of fisheries and oceans. As of Friday, Chagger will take the House leader position off his hands.

“Mr. LeBlanc will also assume additional responsibilities in the coming days,” read a release issued by the Prime Minister’s Office shortly after 3 p.m. ET.

“The Prime Minister thanked Minister LeBlanc for his immense contributions as government House leader and expressed his confidence in Minister Chagger as a worthy successor.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "The Prime Minister thanked Minister LeBlanc for his immense contributions as government House leader and expressed his confidence in Minister Chagger as a worthy successor."

Chagger’s fellow ministers, who will all gather for a working retreat this weekend in Sudbury Ont., took to Twitter to congratulate her on the new role.

The government House leader is generally someone with a significant amount of expertise in Parliamentary procedure, and is in charge of the party’s day-to-day business in the House of Commons.

He or she may also act as the government’s representative in negotiations with the Opposition parties as the House debates and passes bills.

“This is a tremendous opportunity,” Chagger told reporters on Friday afternoon. “I’ve been involved in the political process basically my whole life … I will continue to build on the mandate letter given to (LeBlanc) by the Prime Minister.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "This is a tremendous opportunity," Chagger told reporters on Friday afternoon. "I've been involved in the political process basically my whole life … I will continue to build on <a href="http://pm.gc.ca/eng/leader-government-house-commons-mandate-letter">the mandate letter</a> given to (LeBlanc) by the Prime Minister."

Chagger admitted she is not fluent in French, but said she understands the language and is working on improving her French-speaking skills.