Ex-cop Blair’s cabinet promotion pits him against ‘politics of fear’: Trudeau
OTTAWA — Former Toronto police chief Bill Blair’s promotion to cabinet gives the Trudeau Liberals a political firefighter on the thorny issues of irregular migrants, gun violence and criminal syndicates.
Blair’s move to the front benches in the newly created cabinet post of minister of border security and organized crime reduction also gives Justin Trudeau a new ally in a much broader ideological battle — combating what the prime minister calls the “politics of fear” practised by conservatives at home and abroad.
Blair was one of five MPs promoted to cabinet in Wednesday’s shuffle, a pre-emptive move by the Liberals to prepare for the next federal election in 15 months.
Trudeau faces complications from populist governments at home in Ontario under Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives and in the United States under President Donald Trump.