THUNDER BAY -- A pair of Lakehead University political science professors say it’s unlikely Northwestern Ontario will have representation at Prime Minister-designate Justin Trudeau’s cabinet table.
But Laure Paquette says it’s not totally out of the question that either Kenora’s Bob Nault or rookie Thunder Bay MPs Patty Hajdu and Don Rusnak are considered in a lesser role.
“I think the chances of our new Liberal MPs getting in as parliamentary secretaries are actually pretty good,” Paquette said on Wednesday, after taking part in an hour-long panel on the aftermath of Monday’s federal election that earned Trudeau a surprising majority government.
Nault served as minister of Indian Affairs from 1999 to 2003 under then premier Jean Chretien, but Paquette and associate professor Normand Perreault said there are just too many people and regions Trudeau has to please to put Ontario’s northwest on the map.
“There’s a lot of gratitude to go around and he said he’s going to have a small cabinet,” Paquette said.
Neither Hajdu, who has an extensive background as an activist for the homeless, nor Rusnak, a lawyer with experience working with First Nations, have political experience, which will also hurt their individual causes.
Perreault wouldn’t completely rule out their inclusion in cabinet, but reality suggests otherwise.
“It is possible. But you have to remember the Liberals won 46 seats in the Greater Toronto Area,” he said. “They will need to maintain their support there by having a number of cabinet posts from the GTA. The Liberals also won all the seats in Atlantic Canada, so that will also be a priority.”
Perreault went on to say Trudeau and the Liberals will also need representation from each of Canada’s western provinces, including Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, which outside of large urban centres, elected almost exclusively Conservative candidates.
That doesn’t take Quebec into consideration.
“If there are seats in a restricted cabinet that Justin Trudeau has indicated he wants to create, for Northwestern Ontario, it will be to a certain extent an afterthought,” Perreault said.
Trudeau has publicly stated he wants a smaller cabinet and one divided equally along gender lines.
While that might give a boost to Hajdu’s chances, about one-quarter of the Liberal caucus are women and several have several years of political life under their belts.
Rusnak is one of 10 Liberal MPs with an Aboriginal background, which could also factor into Trudeau’s decision-making process, as unlikely as it that he’ll garner consideration.
Paquette said it remains to be seen if Nault would accept a parliamentary secretary position, given his cabinet background.
Trudeau is expected to name his cabinet on Nov. 4.
