Buckley Belanger, Sask.'s sole Liberal MP, appointed to federal cabinet

Chris Edwards · CBC News

· Posted: May 13, 2025 6:30 PM EDT | Last Updated: 1 infinitesimal ago

Saskatchewan MP Buckley Belanger has been named arsenic caput of authorities for agrarian improvement successful the latest national cabinet.

Belanger, who represents the Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River riding, is the sole Liberal MP from Saskatchewan. He's 1 of 3 Indigenous members of Prime Minister Carney's caller cabinet.

"We really person a dependable now, idiosyncratic that volition perceive and talk for us," said Rebecca Sylvestre, 1 of Belanger's constituents from Birch Narrows Dene Nation. "I was truthful blessed to perceive that helium got elected, due to the fact that he's not gonna permission america successful the dark."

Sylvestre said connected Tuesday that she's known Belanger for galore years and that helium personally played a relation successful helping her get done hard experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Before helium ran federally, Belanger served arsenic the MLA for Athabasca from 1995 to 2021. Initially elected arsenic a Liberal, helium switched to the Saskatchewan NDP successful 1998. Before entering provincial authorities helium was the politician of Île-à-la-Crosse from 1988 to 1994.

Sylvestre runs Turnor Lake and Birth Narrows Community Food Centre and said she received a missive from Belanger thanking her for her assemblage advocacy erstwhile helium was an MLA.

"I ne'er got that from anybody else."

Now that Belanger holds the national furniture role, Sylvestre said she's astir funny successful him helping solve issues of access to wellness attraction that person been affecting agrarian communities.

"Our exigency centres are unopen down due to the fact that there's nary nurses, there's nary doctors. So wherever bash we person to go? We person to question hours, ambulance question hours to travel and get our people," she said.

Carney's 2nd cabinet

Prime Minister Mark Carney's latest furniture is made up of 28 afloat ministers and 10 secretaries of state. Thirteen members of the main furniture are recently elected MPs, arsenic are 9 of the secretaries of state.

Belanger is 1 of those caller MPs. He defeated Conservative campaigner Jim Lemaigre successful the national predetermination connected April 28. The Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River riding had antecedently been held by Conservative MP Gary Vidal, who bushed Belanger successful the 2021 national election.

The secretaries volition beryllium members of the privy assembly and person been selected to woody with "key issues" wrong the national government.

Bobby Cameron, main of the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations, said he knows Belanger personally and is satisfied with the appointment. Like Sylvestre, helium said the Indigenous and bluish practice is important.

The biggest priorities Cameron wants to spot tackled are pact rights successful agrarian areas, improving kid payment and wellness attraction services, and an on-reserve constabulary unit that respective First Nations person been advocating for.

"He sees wherever improvement is needed wrong our communities successful bluish Saskatchewan," Cameron said. "He sees it, he's lived there, he's experienced it, helium understands afloat wherever betterment needs to happen."

What does a caput of authorities do?

Secretary of authorities roles wrong the national authorities person been utilized intermittently implicit the past 30 years. They person sometimes been called inferior ministers. They person not been authoritative positions since 2008.

They are not furniture ministers, but are portion of cabinet, and whitethorn beryllium invited to furniture oregon furniture committee meetings erstwhile matters related to their responsibilities are being discussed oregon if their expertise is needed.

"My instinct is that this is simply a mode to guarantee that there's idiosyncratic who tin absorption connected questions speaking to agrarian improvement and agrarian Canadians, and idiosyncratic who ministers tin spell to and bring into the treatment erstwhile issues important to those regions travel up," said Daniel Westlake, who teaches authorities astatine the University of Saskatchewan.

As for however that volition play retired nether Carney, Westlake said the nationalist request to hold and spot what his benignant of governing is.

"Cabinet is simply a small spot of a achromatic box, successful that antithetic premier ministers person antithetic ideas astir however furniture should beryllium organized and what the antithetic roles successful furniture mean, and however overmuch power they have."

Westlake says the assignment of a Saskatchewan typical arsenic a caput of authorities is the "minimum you would expect" erstwhile it comes to determination representation.

"I don't deliberation it's needfully what galore Saskatchewan voters would person wanted," helium said.

"They wanted a afloat furniture minister. But erstwhile you person a premier curate that wants a much slimmed-down cabinet, there's hard choices and challenges to marque definite there's idiosyncratic from each the regions."