The Honourable Andrew Scheer, Leader of Canada’s Conservatives and of the Official Opposition, issued the following statement on Justin Trudeau’s new cabinet:

“On Oct. 21, Justin Trudeau lost seats in every region of the country and lost nearly one million votes from the 2015 election. Canadians sent him a clear message that they want a new approach.

“Naming a new cabinet was an opportunity for Trudeau to change course and abandon his reckless approach of dividing the country with failed policies. 

“Instead he has doubled down on the same faces and the same failures.

“The cabinet he unveiled today is a bigger and more bloated version of the same one that helped create an affordability crisis for Canadian families, attacked our energy sector and put thousands of Canadians out of work, and set the stage for a national unity crisis.

“Justin Trudeau has made it clear that he has learned nothing over the last four years. By appointing a known anti-pipeline activist and ministers who stood behind him while he passed job-killing, anti-energy legislation like Bills C-69 and C-48, Trudeau will only further stoke the divisions he created during the election campaign. 

“Today, Trudeau wasted an opportunity to begin a new approach. Instead, he’s doubling down on the same failures of the last four years. Conservatives will continue to fight to keep Canada united and strong, to help Canadians get ahead, to restore ethics and accountability to government and to get our forestry and energy sectors back to work.”