Estelle Hjertaas, who ran in Prince Albert for the Liberals in the last election, saw plenty of positives in today's cabinet shuffle. (Facebook/PA Federal Liberal Association)

By Rob Mahon

Trudeau Cabinet Shuffle

Local Liberal candidate pleased with cabinet shuffle

Oct 26, 2021 | 5:00 PM

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has shuffled his cabinet as of this morning, and some of the new appointees will be dealing with portfolios that directly influence people in the prairie provinces. Initial reaction from Liberal party members in Prince Albert was positive for these changes.

“I’m excited to see some continuity but also some change in the portfolios that are most important to me,” said Estelle Hjertaas, a legal aid lawyer who ran as a candidate for the Liberal party in Prince Albert during the most recent federal election. “In Indigenous Services, we have Patty Hajdu moving in from Health and Marc Miller moving from Indigenous Services to Crown-Indigenous Relations. So continuity there but also some fresh faces.”

Among the changes that will most keenly interest Prince Albert residents, Dan Vandal is the new Minister of Northern Affairs, Minister responsible for Prairies Economic Development Canada, and Minister responsible for the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency. The Winnipeg-based MP is a Metis person who represents Saint-Boniface Saint-Vital federally.

“I’ve met him on a few occasions,” Hjertaas said. “He’s extremely nice, very competent. He’s an Indigenous person and extremely passionate about representing people in Western Canada, so I think he’s a great choice.”

Vandal faces a tough task in that the prairie provinces, by and large, did not show a lot of support for the current federal government during the election. In fact, the Liberals did not win a single seat in Saskatchewan.

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“He’s someone from Western Canada, and lives here, I understand,” Hjertaas said. “He’s very committed, he knows what’s going on, and he’s an Indigenous person so he’ll view things from multiple different background. I certainly hope he can make inroads on that. It’s important to have a western person in that portfolio to be our voice in Canada.”

Among the issues Hjertaas wants Vandal and the federal government as a whole to consider out west are problems with fire, drought, and agriculture.

Hjertaas also said it was good to see the Prime Minister continue to keep his promise to make sure half the people in his cabinet are women.

“I think it sends an important message, but it’s not as though you’re scraping the bottom of the barrel,” Hjertaas said. “There are extremely competent female members of parliament that are elected under the Liberal banner and of course for other parties as well.”

Trudeau was re-elected with a minority government on Sept. 20.

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rob.mahon@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @RobMahonPxP