Trudeau killed the ‘business Liberal.’ Carney’s bringing it back

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Eugene Lang is an assistant professor in the school of policy studies at Queen’s University, a senior fellow at the Bill Graham Centre for Contemporary International History at the University of Toronto and a fellow at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute.

The business Liberal is back, to some extent.

I wrote in these pages in January, back when former prime minister Justin Trudeau stepped down, that the business-oriented cabinet minister had become a dying breed. Traditionally an important voice in Liberal governments and exemplified by people such as Paul Martin and John Manley, the blue Liberal was on the road to extinction during Mr. Trudeau’s decade in office.

Mr. Trudeau’s governments were overwhelmingly redistributionist, paid little attention to the economy, had few ministers with private-sector backgrounds, and were indifferent if not hostile to business interests. Some would say his governments were more orange than red, and had almost no trace of blue. Canada’s economic statistics – dismal productivity growth, anemic business investment and deteriorating federal finances – reflect this.

Now, it appears that the advent of Prime Minister Mark Carney – a former central banker and Goldman Sachs executive – has pushed the economy back toward the centre of the agenda. On Tuesday, Mr. Carney appointed his ministers, and the business voice has made somewhat of a comeback in cabinet.

Mark Carney’s new cabinet: A look at the ministers who are in and out

Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson, also a former Goldman Sachs executive, is the most important new step in a business-friendly direction. Mr. Carney said during the campaign, in an echo of former prime minister Stephen Harper, that he wanted Canada to be “the world’s leading energy superpower.” It‘s a lofty goal to be sure, and one that will require Mr. Hodgson reaching a rapprochement between Ottawa and the oil and gas sector, and the Alberta and Saskatchewan governments. Mr. Hodgson’s investment banking experience, plus his record in getting energy projects built as chair of Hydro One, should come in handy in cutting through the regulatory quagmire that has frustrated energy and mining project development during the Trudeau years.

There is also some new blood in the International Trade portfolio. Maninder Sidhu, a former customs brokerage entrepreneur, will hopefully bring some of the realities of business to the often high-minded bureaucracy in that department.

Many of the old Trudeau stalwarts remained in Mr. Carney’s cabinet, though some were deployed appropriately.

François-Philippe Champagne retains the Finance portfolio. It is either a serious vote of confidence from Mr. Carney or a signal that he plans to be his own finance minister. Time will tell. Regardless, Mr. Champagne is a former international business lawyer and World Economic Forum “Young Global Leader.” He was one of the few business voices in Mr. Trudeau’s cabinets, and is known for his consistent communications with companies and his efforts to explain the private-sector world view to his officials during his time as industry minister.

A new mouthful of a portfolio called “Canada-U.S. Trade, Intergovernmental Affairs and One Canadian Economy” is to be led by Dominic LeBlanc. While Mr. LeBlanc has no business background, he was generally regarded as the most competent minister in the Trudeau government. Pragmatic, affable and politically acute, Mr. LeBlanc plays well with others and brings to the table strong existing relations with premiers and Trump administration officials. This should be good for Canadian business.

Chrystia Freeland, Mr. Trudeau’s deputy prime minister and finance minister, remains at Transport and Internal Trade, a job she got when Mr. Carney became Prime Minister in March. Keeping Ms. Freeland focused on domestic affairs, and out of the Canada-U.S. spotlight, is good for Canadian business. Fairly or not, she is a lightning rod in Washington – Donald Trump referred to her in his recent meeting with Mr. Carney as “a terrible person.” How Ms. Freeland and Mr. LeBlanc will carve up responsibilities for Internal Trade will be interesting to watch.

Steven Guilbeault, former environmental activist and controversial environment minister under Mr. Trudeau, has been replaced in that portfolio by Julie Dabrusin, a former Toronto civil litigator. Hopefully this change leads to a less dogmatic approach and more balance between the environment and the economy.

One notable pick for Mr. Carney’s economic team is questionable. The new Industry Minister (and Minister for Quebec Economic Development), Mélanie Joly, is basically a career politician who was a central figure on the left of Mr. Trudeau’s cabinet and a leading Quebec voice in the room. A onetime commercial litigator, Ms. Joly is nevertheless not known for her interest in or knowledge of economic policy. Whether she can be counted upon to be a strong voice for business interests at the cabinet table – beyond those in the province of Quebec – remains to be seen.

But all in all, on the surface at least, Mr. Carney’s is a more business-friendly cabinet than we ever had under Mr. Trudeau. And not a moment too soon, given the economic headwinds coming at Canada from south of the border and a probable recession.