The Liberal caucus is rumoured to be losing at least three more MPs within weeks after Chrystia Freeland’s cabinet departure earlier this week to a Ukraine envoy role, with Bill Blair, Jonathan Wilkinson, and Steven Guilbeault all flagged for imminent exits by multiple reports and on-record commentary.
The Toronto Sun’s Brian Lilley reported Blair “will soon depart Ottawa… to take up a new position at the High Commission in London,” with Ralph Goodale set to retire. He added Guilbeault intends to leave “after his pension is vested after October 19, 2025.”
Global Affairs Canada still lists Goodale as High Commissioner to the UK, and in February he publicly signalled his tenure was “coming to an end” at the four-year mark.
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On Wilkinson, The Globe and Mail previously reported two former cabinet ministers (identified as Blair and Wilkinson) are in line for top diplomatic posts. Other coverage has floated Germany as the likely destination.
The timing around Guilbeault is tied to pension eligibility. Lilley’s note aligns with parliamentary debates that flagged October 20, 2025 as the election date that would tip first-elected-in-2019 MPs into full pension eligibility—placing a potential Guilbeault resignation on or after October 19, 2025.
Parallel to the caucus rumours, PMO turnover intensified as David Lametti has abruptly left his role as Prime Minister Mark Carney’s principal secretary less than three months in, with reporting that he is expected to receive a diplomatic posting, likely at the UN, where Bob Rae has served since 2020.
The staff dynamics also intersect with scrutiny of principal secretary Tom Pitfield’s stake in Data Sciences, a firm that has worked for Philip Morris International which could spell an optics issue given federal anti-smoking policy. Carney publicly downplayed the concern, calling it a “non-issue,” according to recent coverage.
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