Government to Set Up a National Security Council, Trudeau Says After Cabinet Shuffle

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arrives for a cabinet swearing-in ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa on July 26, 2023. (The Canadian Press/Justin Tang)

The Liberal government will soon establish a new political body to oversee security and intelligence matters, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on July 27 following his major cabinet shuffle the day before.

“We’re now looking at building a further National Security Council that will have a role of overseeing and setting a strategic direction for the new and real security challenges that countries like Canada are increasingly facing,” Mr. Trudeau said while speaking to reporters in Newfoundland and Labrador.

He did not provide further details but said a further announcement will be made in the coming weeks.

A Prime Minister’s Office spokesperson reportedly told CBC News on July 26 that the council will be a cabinet committee to serve as a “forum for ministers to deliberate on and address issues of pressing concern to Canada’s domestic and international security.”

The move comes amid mounting pressure to properly address interference by the Chinese regime and foreign governments.

Several portfolios with security angles changed hands in the cabinet shuffle on July 26, with Marco Mendicino losing the public safety file and being ousted from cabinet. He was replaced by Dominic Leblanc, who added the new portfolio to his intergovernmental affairs responsibilities.

Bill Blair was moved to defence and was replaced by Harjit Sajjan at emergency preparedness. Mr. Sajjan is a military veteran and served previously as minister of defence.

These ministers will likely have a seat on the council, along with Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland and Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly, who are among the ministers who kept their positions.

Given the sensitivity surrounding security and intelligence activities, newly minted Justice Minister Arif Virani is also likely to be part of the council’s deliberations.

Recommended Move

The move to create a National Security Council is something that security experts have previously recommended.

Vincent Rigby, a former national security and intelligence adviser to the prime minister, had told a House of Commons committee on June 8 that such a body should be created. The council should be composed of ministers with security and intelligence files and be chaired by the prime minister, Mr. Rigby said.

The government already has an Incident Response Group that meets in times of crisis, but Mr. Rigby noted that the council’s purpose would be to address national security matters before they reach a crisis stage.

“We are the only Five Eyes country that doesn’t have that type of a body,” said Mr. Rigby, in reference to Canada’s intelligence alliance with Australia, New Zealand, the UK, and the United States.

“To me, it is just so logical to create that kind of a body at this time in our history.”

Mr. Rigby had earlier made the recommendation in a May 2022 policy paper advocating for a national security strategy, which he co-directed with professor Thomas Juneau of the University of Ottawa.

China expert Margaret McCuaig-Johnston, one of the participants of the task force that produced the 2022 paper, says she welcomes today’s announcement of the new council.

“It should have both an immediate and long-term strategy remit,” says Ms. McCuaig-Johnson, who sits on the advisory board of the China Strategic Risks Institute.

“I look at it from the perspective of China and the importance of having a forum for the discussion of China risks,” she told The Epoch Times.

Ms. McCuaig-Johnson also says it is “critical” that the prime minister chairs the council himself and not delegate the responsibility to a cabinet minister.

“He must be more concerned and engaged on national security issues than he has been.”

Mr. Trudeau said the decision to create the council shows his government’s commitment to national security and is in line with the creation in 2017 of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP).

“That was a huge innovation we brought in a few years ago,” he said. “Over the past number of years, we have significantly invested in strengthening our ability to respond to national security concerns.”

The NSICOP, unlike other parliamentary committees, does not report to the House of Commons or the Senate but instead answers to the prime minister. Members of all parties and both houses are represented in the committee.

The committee tabled its annual report on July 19, in which it deplored the government’s lack of response to many of its recommendations to improve policies and processes. The report also noted the difficulty the committee is experiencing in getting access to necessary documents to conduct its work.