Canada’s PM Trudeau picks Russia critic Chrystia Freeland as foreign minister

The reshuffle also sees John McCallum heading for Bejing as ambassador, after being ousted from immigration portfolio

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Chrystia Freeland has been appointed Canada’s new foreign minister. She is pictured being hugged by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as Governor General David Johnston watches upon her prior appointment to the international trade portfolio in 2015. Photo: Reuters

Published: 2:26pm, 11 Jan 2017Updated: 8:57pm, 11 Jan 2017

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has picked a Russia critic as the country’s new top diplomat on Tuesday to work with the incoming US Trump administration and handle potentially fraught trade challenges.

Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland was appointed foreign affairs minister but also retained responsibility for the Canada-US relations portfolio, including the trading relationship.

The change is part of a wider shuffle of Trudeau’s inner circle as he tries to position Canada for a new relationship with its largest trading partner and demote underperformers in his 14-month-old Liberal government.

Canada’s relationship with its neighbour could be tested in coming years, with US President-elect Donald Trump promising to renegotiate the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) aimed at removing tariff barriers between Canada, Mexico and the United States.

“Obviously, the new administration to the south will present ... both opportunities and challenges, as well as a shifting global context,” Trudeau told reporters after the announcement.

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (centre) unveils a reshuffled cabinet on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. Also pictured (from left) Minister of Status of Women Maryam Monsef, Minister of Democratic Institutions Karina Gould, Minister of International Trade François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour Patricia Hajdu and Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Ahmed Hussen. Photo: Reuters

Immigration Minister John McCallum was meanwhile named ambassador to China and was replaced by Ahmed Hussen, a Muslim who came to Canada as a teenaged refugee from war-torn Somalia.

The move came ahead of Trump’s January 20 inauguration and shortly after Trudeau’s senior staff met with Trump’s transition team.