Pascale St-Onge
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has appointed Quebec MP Pascale St-Onge as Heritage Minister, shuffling the former minister, Pablo Rodriguez to the Transport portfolio.
The move, announced Wednesday in Ottawa, is part of a larger shuffle that saw Trudeau drop seven ministers, and shuffle numerous others, making changes that affected 30 of the government's 38 ministries.
St-Onge, first elected in 2021 in Brome-Missisquoi in Quebec's Eastern Townships, previously served as Minister of Sport.
In that portfolio, she faced calls to do more to respond to the country's safe-sport crisis, which saw tearful athletes speak at parliamentary committees about the mental, physical and sexual abuse they had endured.
St-Onge brings a background of senior leadership in the Fédération nationale des communications et de la culture, where she worked on challenges facing news media and the cultural sector.
Rodriguez, who assumed responsibility for the Heritage portfolio in October 2021, after previously serving in the role from 2018 to 2019, has been embroiled in a battle with large online platforms like Google and Meta.
At issue is recent federal legislation that requires tech giants to pay for content they repost from Canadian news sources, a measure aimed at helping the struggling journalism sector.
The Canadian Media Fund, which works to promote Canadian content, welcomed St-Onge's appointment, saying her "strong track record of leadership and advocacy for the media and cultural sector will be invaluable."
As minister, St-Onge will be responsible for a large and varied portfolio that includes the Canadian Heritage department, as well as important organizations in the arts, such as the Canada Council for the Arts and the National Gallery of Canada.
St-Onge, who has worked as a musician, has a bachelor's degree in literary studies from the Université du Québec à Montréal and a certificate in journalism from the Université de Montréal.