OTTAWA – Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau named Lawrence MacAulay as federal minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food. MacAulay also will serve as a representative for Prince Edward Island (PEI). 

Lawrence MacAulay, Canadian Agriculture Minister
Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food 

MacAulay has represented Cardigan, PEI, since 1988, making him the province’s longest-serving Member of Parliament. Under former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, he served as Secretary of State for Veteran Affairs in 1993 and later as Minister of Labour and the Minister responsible for Prince Edward Island. Most recently MacAulay served two terms as Solicitor General of Canada.

Before embarking on a career in politics, MacAulay was a seed potato and dairy farmer. His website states he “proudly holds the PEI record for hugging the most people in a single day.”

On trade, Trudeau appointed Chrystia Freeland of Ontario as Minister of International Trade. She was the former Member of Parliament for Toronto Centre. Her current seat is MP for University-Rosedale. 

Chrystia Freeland, Minister of International Trade
Chrystia Freeland,  
Minister of International Trade

Freeland is an author and journalist who held numerous editorial roles with the Financial Times, The Globe and Mail and Reuters. Between 1999 and 2001 she was deputy editor of The Globe and Mail before joining the Financial Times as managing editor. Freeland also has worked for the Washington Post and The Economist. She is a Harvard graduate and a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford Univ.

Freeland’s books include “Sale of a Century: The Inside Story of the Second Russian Revolution” and “Plutocrats: The Rise of the New Global Super-Rich and the Fall of Everyone Else.”