Southwestern Ontario shut out of federal cabinet, Western professor argues it ‘isn’t a slight’

Arielle Kayabaga was dropped from Carney’s cabinet after a short-lived appointment. CTV London's Sean Irvine reports.

London has lost its seat at the federal cabinet table.

Arielle Kayabaga was dropped from Prime Minister Mark Carney’s cabinet after a short-lived appointment as the Minister of Democratic Institutions.

The move leaves southwestern Ontario unrepresented.

“I do think that it is really important, not just for London, but for the entire southwestern region, to have a seat at the cabinet table and make sure that we are champion,” Kayabaga told CTV News on March 17.

While she did not comment directly on being left out Tuesday, she pledged on social media to “stand ready to support” the Prime Minister. She also thanked him and her constituents for their support during her brief tenure.

Kayabaga, London Centre MP Peter Fragiskatos, and Tim Louis in Kitchener-Conestoga, are southwestern Ontario’s only Liberal MPs.

But leaving them outside the inner circle is not necessarily a knock, said Western University political science professor Laura Stephenson.

“Carney today has a very specific mandate that is different than when he was just announced as leader. And so, do I think this is a particular slight? I don’t think so. And I would hesitate to ever think that that is what’s happening,” Stephenson told CTV News.

Instead, she believes the prime minister picked a cabinet to meet his strategic mandate.

“I’m going to call it a business-oriented cabinet, as in, Carney wants to get down to business. So, he has designed the structure as such that he thinks it will be the most likely to get strong outcomes.”

Reviewing the cabinet list, Stephenson stated ministerial skills picked by Carney fit the tariff threat from the U.S. and an effort to bridge interprovincial trade barriers.

She also points to the introduction of an AI Minister as one potential signal that Carney may be looking to automate and downsize some areas and services of the government.