Waterloo Region loses its only seat in the federal cabinet
Once a rising star, Bardish Chagger finds herself out in the cold
Since the start of Justin Trudeau’s government in 2015, Waterloo MP Bardish Chagger had been a fixture in his cabinet.
In many ways she epitomized his progressive approach. She was the first Sikh woman ever to be named to a federal cabinet position when she became minister of small business and tourism.
The following year, she became the first woman and the first visible minority ever to receive the high-profile portfolio of government House leader.
She was unflappable, photogenic and seemed always to be right beside him at Question Period.
But that was then. Now, she’s out.
Trudeau named his new cabinet Tuesday and Chagger was not on the list. In fact no MP from southwestern Ontario is on that list, even though 16 of the 38 cabinet ministers are from Ontario.
In an interview Tuesday, Chagger said that won’t be a problem. Local MPs will work hard bringing their constituents’ concerns to cabinet, as they always have, she said.
Asked if she was disappointed to be dropped, she said, “The cabinet is the prerogative of the prime minister, and I have confidence in the prime minister. Change is hard, but change is always needed.”
Ian McLean, president and CEO of the Greater Kitchener Waterloo Chamber of Commerce, said he is disappointed at the absence of a local MP in cabinet.
“Bardish was very accessible to just about everyone in the community,” he said.
“Anyone who says they’re not disappointed is not paying attention. I don’t know how you can be from this part of the world and think somehow this region doesn’t
warrant having someone at the cabinet table.”
There’s another disappointment about this for us all, and that’s the demotion of a smart, accomplished woman of colour whose soaring career embodied the Canadian dream.
Isn’t that what the Trudeau government is all about?
Chagger’s story is like a fairy tale. She comes from a workingclass Sikh family that immigrated from Punjab, India.
Her grandparents and father worked in a Waterloo carpet factory when they came here in the 1970s. Her grandmother learned to read by studying the advertising flyers that came to the house each week.
Chagger's family lived through ugly racism, including rocks thrown at their house and graffiti spray-painted on its walls. But they always kept their eyes on that better life for which they came to Canada.
And they got it in Chagger. She has a degree in science from University of Waterloo.
Her father, grateful for the liberal immigration policies of then-prime minister Pierre Trudeau, was a loyal volunteer for the Liberal party.
Chagger joined him. She helped put up signs at election time, ran the Young Liberals association at university and — after Andrew Telegdi was elected as Liberal MP for Waterloo, she ran his offices in Waterloo and Ottawa.
As a member of cabinet, Chagger worked hard and promoted her portfolios.
She lost the job of government House leader in 2019 when Canadian voters brought the Liberal government down to minority status. But that made sense.
Different skills were required for that situation.
When she got caught up in the WE Charity scandal in 2020, Chagger was minister of diversity, inclusion and youth.
She was responsible for a $900-million program that would have given grants to students for doing volunteer work.
It was meant to support a vulnerable group that had been knocked sideways by the pandemic. There was time pressure on the decision, in order to get the cash out.
Chagger told MPs that the public service had recommended WE Charity as the only organization with the reach and experience to be able to make it all happen. She accepted their recommendation and brought it to cabinet colleagues, she said.
But the charity also had long ties to Trudeau and his family, including paying his close relatives to appear at WE events. Then-finance minister Bill Morneau travelled with his family to Ecuador and Kenya to learn about their work. WE Charity had picked up the tab.
Chagger herself had no conflict of interest.
But in the summer of 2020, she faced many hours of hostile questioning by opposition MPs who accused her of unfairly paving the way for the charity.
The charity had troubles of its own. It withdrew from the plan. The cash-for-volunteering program never happened.
The House of Commons ethics committee eventually found that the government’s decision to sign an untendered contract with the charity was “deeply troubling” because of the lack of due diligence.
I asked Chagger if her involvement with the ill-fated WE Charity decision had been part of the reason for her to be dropped from cabinet.
“That’s a good question for the prime minister,” she said.
And then, with that relentless “Canadian dream” spirit: “I’m a doer, and I’m going to continue being focused on what I can do.
“It’s a gloomy day out there, but my heart is beating, and I’m excited to see what comes next.”