Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a cabinet shuffle Tuesday that changed the leadership of senior portfolios such as Global Affairs and Transport and announced that minister Navdeep Bains is leaving federal politics.

The move will add fuel to speculation that the Liberal government is seriously considering the possibility of a spring election, even though the party was re-elected with a minority mandate a little over a year ago.

François-Philippe Champagne will move from Global Affairs in order to replace Mr. Bains as head of Innovation, Science and Economic Development. Marc Garneau is being moved from Transport to Global Affairs.

Mississauga Centre Liberal MP Omar Alghabra is being promoted into cabinet to replace Mr. Garneau at Transport and Jim Carr returns to cabinet as a minister without a department while continuing in his role as special representative for the prairies. Mr. Carr had left cabinet following the 2019 election due to a cancer diagnosis.

A senior government insider said the shuffle was triggered by Mr. Bains’ decision to step down from his position as Innovation Minister and leave federal politics. The insider said the Prime Minister was taken aback by Mr. Bains’ decision. Mr. Bains told Mr. Trudeau that his wife wanted to get back to work and he wanted to spend more time with his daughters who are becoming teenagers. He told Mr. Trudeau it was time to give back to his family, the insider said.

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