OTTAWA — Canada’s new Minister of Jobs and Families says the new federal government will work with diverse voices across the country.
Thunder Bay—Superior North MP Patty Hajdu was named on Tuesday to Prime Minister Mark Carney’s first cabinet since he and his government was elected in April. She moved to her new post from the Indigenous services portfolio, which she had held since 2021.
Responding to a reporter’s question about Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s unhappiness with the new cabinet and addressing national unity, Hajdu said the new government is listening.
“I think that there's an opportunity to work with all kinds of voices all across the country,” she said just before going into the new cabinet’s first meeting after Tuesday’s swearing in. “We will serve all Canadians and that's the way government should think about the way that we operate.”
“Regardless of who voted for us, regardless of your particular policy perspective, we're there to work for you,” Hajdu continued. “We might not always agree — it's a big country with lots of different agendas and priorities — but we can do this work.”
Hajdu is also once again the minister responsible for FedNor after Carney reestablished that as a standalone portfolio, as he did with other regional economic development agencies. They had all been folded under a single ministry during Carney’s transitional cabinet, formed after he was chosen as Liberal leader in March.
“The cabinet is to strengthen the Canadian economy and protect workers from the shock that's coming from a changing economic relationship with the United States,” Hajdu told reporters on Wednesday morning.
“That's a task that the Prime Minister has given me, along with many other ministers, to ensure that we support workers no matter what comes.”
