Conservative leader Andrew Scheer has unveiled his new shadow cabinet, naming a number of his former leadership competitors to high-profile portfolios like foreign affairs, veterans affairs and infrastructure.
Maxime Bernier, who nearly bested Scheer in late May after a lengthy and sometimes acrimonious leadership race, will become the party’s critic for innovation, science and economic development.
Bernier had previously expressed a personal interest in becoming the finance critic, but that job has gone to Pierre Poilievre.
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Overall, there are nine woman and 26 men in the group. Scheer handed critic portfolios to four of his former competitors, including Bernier, Michael Chong (infrastructure), Erin O’Toole (foreign affairs), and Steven Blaney (veterans affairs).
Kellie Leitch, whose proposals linked to immigration drew fire during the leadership contest, is not on the list. Neither is the race’s third runner-up, social conservative Brad Trost.
“Our shadow ministers bring a wealth of experience from every walk of life, and ours is the only party that understands the challenges Canadian families face every day under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau,” Scheer wrote in a release issued Wednesday afternoon.
The Conservatives are using the term “shadow minister” rather than the more commonly used “critic” to describe the members of the new team. Scheer called them a “united, energized and diverse” group in his statement.
The shadow cabinet, as always, will be responsible for monitoring the government’s actions on various files and responding to those decisions.
Scheer previously confirmed his “leadership team” back in July, which includes deputy leader Lisa Raitt, Quebec political lieutenant Alain Rayes, party whip Mark Strahl, House leader Candice Bergen and deputy House leader Chris Warkentin.
Disappointing ‘honeymoon’ for Scheer
Scheer’s election as the new Conservative leader in late May did provide the party with a small bump in national polls conducted over the last three months, with support increasing by — on average — just over one percentage point.
The Tories have been sitting at about 32 per cent support nationwide, which is still significantly lower than the 40-per-cent (or more) of Canadians who say they would vote for the governing Liberals if an election were held tomorrow.
A late-August poll from Forum Research indicated that the Conservatives had started to close the gap a bit, however, earning 35 per cent support.
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Scheer’s “honeymoon” poll bump, according to an analysis done by CBC News this week, is the lowest for any new federal party leader in 14 years. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau produced an eight-point bump for the Liberals when he became leader in 2013, while Stephen Harper pushed support for the newly formed Conservative Party up by over five points in 2004.
Much of the lacklustre response to Scheer could be due to the fact that he was only leader for a few short weeks before the House of Commons broke for the summer. As a result, he hasn’t gone up against Trudeau much in Question Period.
Scheer has spent much of this summer on the road, most recently travelling to British Columbia with his family in tow. He has been especially critical of the Trudeau government’s policies surrounding asylum seekers crossing the border irregularly and the settlement money paid to former Guantanamo inmate Omar Khadr.
Conservative shadow cabinet members
Ziad Aboultaif: International Development
Dan Albas: Small Business
Dean Allison: International Trade
John Barlow: Agriculture and Agri-Food (associate shadow minister)
Maxime Bernier: Innovation, Science, and Economic Development
Luc Berthold: Agriculture and Agri-Food
James Bezan: National Defence
Steven Blaney: Veterans Affairs
Kelly Block: Transport
Michael Chong: Infrastructure, Communities, and Urban Affairs.
Tony Clement: Public Services and Procurement
Gérard Deltell: Treasury Board
Todd Doherty: Fisheries, Oceans, and Canadian Coast Guard
Ed Fast: Environment and Climate Change
Marilyn Gladu: Health
Rachael Harder: Status of Women
Matt Jeneroux: Science
Pat Kelly: National Revenue
Peter Kent: Ethics
Cathy McLeod: Crown-Indigenous and Northern Affairs, Indigenous Services and the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency
Rob Moore: Atlantic Issues and the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
Rob Nicholson: Justice
Alexander Nuttall: Youth, Sport, and Persons with Disabilities
Erin O’Toole: Foreign Affairs
Pierre Paul-Hus: Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
Pierre Poilievre: Finance and National Capital Commission
Alain Rayes: Intergovernmental Affairs
Scott Reid: Democratic Institutions
Michelle Rempel: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship
Bob Saroya: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship (associate shadow minister)
Shannon Stubbs: Natural Resources.
Peter Van Loan: Canadian Heritage and National Historic Sites
Karen Vecchio: Families, Children and Social Development
Dianne Watts: Employment, Workforce Development and Labour
Alice Wong: Seniors