Indigenous Services minister says economic reconciliation essential amid Canada-U.S. trade war [Video]

As the new federal government grapples with how to tackle the growing trade war between Canada and the U.S., Patty Hajdu says a key opportunity to strengthen domestic economies lies with reconciliation.

While more than a dozen positions have been cut in Prime Minister Mark Carney’s lean 24-person cabinet — down from 39 members under former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau — Hajdu has maintained her role as minister of Indigenous Services.

Hajdu was first elected as MP of Thunder Bay—Superior North in 2015 and became minister in 2021. She was also formerly the minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario, but this role has been merged under Carney’s government under one economic development agency portfolio.

“It’s a very big honour to continue to serve in this role and in this particular cabinet, which is the cabinet that’s needing to respond to, I think, a significant crisis …