Termination of Nine Ministers of State Assignments

Summary#

The Canada Gazette published the Order Terminating the Assignment of Certain Ministers of State: SI/2025-29, which ends the Minister-of-State assignments for nine members of the federal government. The order was approved on March 14, 2025 and registered in the Gazette on March 26, 2025 under the Ministries and Ministers of State Act.

What it does#

• Terminates the Minister-of-State assignment of Marci Ien, originally made by Order in Council P.C. 2021-915 on October 26, 2021.
• Terminates the Minister-of-State assignment of Gudrid Ida Hutchings, originally made by Order in Council P.C. 2021-918 on October 26, 2021.
• Terminates the Minister-of-State assignment of Harjit Singh Sajjan, originally made by Order in Council P.C. 2023-755 on July 26, 2023.
• Terminates the Minister-of-State assignment of Kamal Khera, originally made by Order in Council P.C. 2023-758 on July 26, 2023.
• Terminates the Minister-of-State assignment of Soraya Martinez Ferrada, originally made by Order in Council P.C. 2023-759 on July 26, 2023.
• Terminates the Minister-of-State assignment of Arif Virani, originally made by Order in Council P.C. 2024-158 on February 19, 2024.
• Terminates the Minister-of-State assignment of Ruby Sahota, originally made by Order in Council P.C. 2024-1417 on December 20, 2024.
• Terminates the Minister-of-State assignment of Joanne Thompson, originally made by Order in Council P.C. 2024-1418 on December 20, 2024.
• Terminates the Minister-of-State assignment of Rachel Bendayan, originally made by Order in Council P.C. 2024-1419 on December 20, 2024.

Who's affected#

• The primary people affected are the nine named ministers: Marci Ien, Gudrid Ida Hutchings, Harjit Singh Sajjan, Kamal Khera, Soraya Martinez Ferrada, Arif Virani, Ruby Sahota, Joanne Thompson, and Rachel Bendayan.
• Their immediate staff and any teams that supported their Minister-of-State work will likely be affected.
• The order does not list which specific departmental responsibilities or programs are being changed, so it is unclear which federal departments or public services will see concrete operational changes.

Why it matters#

• Ending these assignments removes the ministers' formal roles as Ministers of State. That can mean their specific duties, public responsibilities, or portfolios will be reassigned inside government.
• For the public, the most visible effects could be changes in who speaks for particular files or who handles certain government programs.
• The Gazette notice is largely administrative: it records the government's decision but does not explain the reason for the changes or what will replace the ended assignments.