Guilbeault departure sparks cabinet shuffle

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OTTAWA — Just days after a high-profile cabinet minister resigned, Prime Minister Mark Carney is preparing to shuffle his cabinet.

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The swearing-in ceremony will take place at Rideau Hall Monday afternoon at 3 p.m.

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On Thursday, Steven Guilbeault, a Trudeau-era environment minister, stepped down from his current post as Culture minister, after Carney signed of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Alberta and the federal government to advance the construction of oil and gas pipelines to the B.C. coast. The development was seemingly a step too far for the former activist who made a career as a radical environmentalist before entering politics in 2019.

Resignation came after signing of pipeline MOU with Alberta

In a statement, Guilbeault said his desire to enter politics came from a need to “champion the fight against climate change and the protection of the environment.

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“Despite this difficult economic context, I remain one of those for whom environmental issues must remain front and centre,” Guilbeault wrote in his statement. “That is why I strongly oppose the memorandum of understanding between the federal government and the government of Alberta.”

Sources say Monday’s shuffle will largely be confined to filling roles left vacant by Guilbeault’s departure.

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In addition to the job as Canadian Identity and Culture minister, Guilbeault’s departure left Carney looking for a new Quebec lieutenant — a prominent position meant as a de facto advisor to the PM about affairs in the province.

Resignation came after “drama-filled” caucus meeting

Sources told the Toronto Sun that Guilbeault’s resignation came after a “heated” and “drama-filled” caucus meeting — one where the former Greenpeace activist reportedly became “very upset” over the PM’s signing of an MOU.

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That MOU would see the proposed watering-down or outright dismantling of a number of key policy points Guilbeault directly or indirectly championed, including the ban on oil tankers along B.C.’s northern coast, and other anti-pipeline and anti-investment legislation.

Guilbeault also criticized the MOU’s intent to exempt Alberta from clean electricity regulations, calling it a “serious mistake.”

He will remain with the party and sit as an MP, representing his Montreal-area riding.

Was prominent activist before entering politics

Originally from the north-central Quebec town of La Tuque, Guilbeault was a co-founder of Equiterre before joining Greenpeace in 1997, becoming head of its climate change activism wing.

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He participated in a number of press stunts on behalf of Greenpeace, including scaling the CN Tower in 2001 to unfurl a banner criticizing the U.S. and Canadian governments for not ratifying the Kyoto accords, and an aborted stunt where he was caught scaling the Calgary home of former premier Ralph Klein in an attempt to install fake solar panels on his roof.

Entering federal politics in 2019, former prime minister Justin Trudeau named him environment minister in 2021, a role he held until Carney demoted him in a cabinet shuffle earlier this year.

bpassifiume@postmedia.com
X: @bryanpassifiume

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