Heath MacDonald in as agriculture minister

Glacier FarmMedia – Heath MacDonald will be the new minister of agriculture and agri-food under Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government.

Carney announced his new cabinet this morning in a ceremony at Rideau Hall.

MacDonald has previously served on the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-food. He represents the riding of Malpeque in Prince Edward Island, which borders Cardigan, the riding previously represented by recent agriculture minister Lawrence MacAulay.

Provincially, MacDonald served as finance minister in P.E.I.

The decision will likely come as a surprise to many in the agriculture industry, where farmers and commodity groups expressed their support for outgoing agriculture minister Kody Blois.

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Canadian Federation of Agriculture president Keith Currie and Grain Growers of Canada executive director Kyle Larkin and chair Tara Sawyer praised Blois and said in post-election interviews with Glacier FarmMedia that they hoped to see him return.

Agri-Food Innovation Council chief executive officer Serge Buy also said he thought Blois was “extremely qualified and competent for the role.”

Other notable changes in today’s cabinet shuffle include:

• Dominic Leblanc taking on responsibility for Canada-U.S. trade and “one Canadian economy.”
• Maninder Sidhu in as minister of international trade.
• Lena Metlege Diab in as minister of immigration, refugees and citizenship.
• Julie Dabrusin in as minister of environment and climate change.

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