“I’ve got a pretty big job now, but I am also a loyal Canadian; I am a non-partisan,” mayor Naheed Nenshi said. “That’s why I wear purple every day — it’s red and blue. And I am always willing to help anybody who’s seeking public service to help do what’s best for this place.” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau overall has less MPs to work with now with just 157 MP instead of the 185 they won last time so there will be many new faces, especially women, in his new cabinet. And one new face will most likely be of Surrey Newton MP Sukh Dhaliwal, who won another decisive victory on Monday, easily defeating his NDP rival by nearly 6000 votes. He won the riding in 2015 by 13,000 votes over the NDP.

 

CALGARY – Popular Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi is being considered by Justin Trudeau’s minority government as having cabinet level representation for Alberta after Liberals failed to win any seats in the Conservative dominated province.

 

Prime Minister Trudeau, who said he will announce his cabinet on November 20th, has to figure out Western Canada representation into his cabinet, and speculation is swirling that Nenshi, an Ismaili-Canadian,  might be tapped for the role.

 

 

The prime minister said the cabinet will have gender parity and he won’t seek a coalition government, which would appear to rule out having Edmonton NDP MP-elect Heather McPherson join the cabinet, reported Calgary Citizen.

 

But comments made by Trudeau have some speculating he might turn to the South Asian Mayor of Calgary to be the West’s voice in his cabinet. Speaking to reporters Wednesday at his first news conference since being re-elected, Trudeau mentioned the mayor by name.

 

“I spoke with both premiers of Alberta and Saskatchewan (Tuesday), but I’m also speaking with people like Mayor Naheed Nenshi and others, to talk about how we can make sure the concerns — the very real concerns of Alberta — are being addressed by this government.”

 

 

 

In an interview on Business News Network on Wednesday, Nenshi did not say “no” to the idea.

 

 “I’ve got a pretty big job now, but I am also a loyal Canadian; I am a non-partisan,” he said. “That’s why I wear purple every day — it’s red and blue. And I am always willing to help anybody who’s seeking public service to help do what’s best for this place.”

 

 

When asked at a press conference where he was reacting to the Alberta provincial budget, Nenshi said there was “no news” on his current job.

 

“I have an excellent job that has somehow gotten harder in the last three hours,” he said.

 

Trudeau overall has less MPs to work with now with just 157 MP instead of the 185 they won last time so there will be many new faces, especially women, in his new cabinet. And one new face will most likely be of Surrey Newton MP Sukh Dhaliwal, who won another decisive victory on Monday, easily defeating his NDP rival by nearly 6000 votes. He won the riding in 2015 by 13,000 votes over the NDP.