New Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney assigns key role to Mississauga MP

Mississauga-Streetsville MP Rechie Valdez, who until this morning served in former prime minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet as minister of small business, was named Chief Government Whip on Friday by incoming Prime Minister Mark Carney.

When she was sworn in as minister of small business on July 26, 2023, Valdez became the first Filipina-Canadian cabinet member in the country’s history.

On Friday morning at Rideau Hall in Ottawa, Valdez took the oath as Chief Government Whip and looked on as Carney was sworn in as Canada’s 24th prime minister and nearly two dozen others as cabinet members (see list below).

While, historically, the post of Chief Government Whip in Canada has not been recognized as a cabinet-level position (unless the person holding the post is concurrently named minister without portfolio or minister of state), Valdez is listed in a news release from the Prime Minister’s Office as a member of Carney’s new cabinet.

Each party in the Parliament of Canada has a whip and, among other duties, they ensure enough Members are in the chamber for debates and votes, determine which committees Members will sit on and assign offices and seats in the House of Commons. Whips also work with Members to ensure the smooth functioning of Parliament.

When Valdez was first elected to the Mississauga-Streetsville federal seat in September 2021, she became the first-ever Filipina-Canadian to hold an MP post anywhere in the country. She handily defeated her Conservative opponent in the September 2021 federal election as part of a Liberal sweep in Mississauga.

The former corporate banker and entrepreneur, and present-day mother of two, is the second Filipino-Canadian to be in the House of Commons. Rey Pagtakhan represented the Liberals in Winnipeg North from 1988 to 2004. 

Mississauga-Streetsville MP Rechie Valdez during her swearing-in as minister of small business in 2023.

Having already made a significant impression both in her own community and in Ottawa, Valdez then jumped onto the international stage in fall 2022. She was one of four Canadian women, identified as “trailblazers,” to be named recipients of the prestigious “Most Influential Filipina Woman in the World” Award.

In assembling his cabinet, Carney said on Friday his team “is built for immediate action and focused on protecting Canadian workers, supporting their families and growing this great country.

“We are changing how things work, so our government can deliver to Canadians faster — and we have an experienced team that is made to meet the moment we are in. Our government is united and strong, and we are getting right to work.”

The new cabinet members are:

• Dominic LeBlanc, minister of international trade and intergovernmental affairs and president of the King’s Privy Council for Canada
• Mélanie Joly, minister of foreign affairs and international development
  François-Philippe Champagne, minister of finance
• Anita Anand, minister of innovation, science and industry
• Bill Blair, minister of national defence
• Patty Hajdu, minister of Indigenous services
• Jonathan Wilkinson, minister of energy and natural resources
• Ginette Petitpas Taylor, president of the Treasury Board
• Steven Guilbeault, minister of Canadian culture and identity, Parks Canada and Quebec lieutenant
• Chrystia Freeland, minister of transport and internal trade
• Kamal Khera, minister of health
• Gary Anandasangaree, minister of justice and attorney general of Canada and minister of Crown-Indigenous relations and northern affairs
• Rechie Valdez, chief government whip
• Steven MacKinnon, minister of jobs and families
• David McGuinty, minister of public safety and emergency preparedness
• Terry Duguid, minister of environment and climate change
• Nate Erskine-Smith, minister of housing, infrastructure and communities
• Rachel Bendayan, minister of immigration, refugees and citizenship
• Élisabeth Brière, minister of veterans affairs and minister responsible for the Canada Revenue Agency
• Joanne Thompson, minister of fisheries, oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard
• Arielle Kayabaga, leader of the government in the House of Commons and minister of democratic institutions
• Kody Blois, minister of agriculture and agri-food and rural economic development
• Ali Ehsassi, minister of government transformation, public services and procurement