Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet (Canada)

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The Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet in Canada is composed of members of the main Opposition party responsible for holding the Government to account and for developing and disseminating the party's policy positions. Members of the Official Opposition are generally referred to as Opposition Critics, but the term Shadow Minister (which is generally used in other Westminster systems) is also used.

Members of the Shadow Cabinet

Following the 41st Canadian general election, held on May 2, 2011, the New Democratic Party replaced the Liberal Party of Canada as the Official Opposition in the 41st Parliament. Party leader Jack Layton announced his first Shadow Cabinet as Leader of the Opposition on May 26, 2011. Layton went on a leave of absence beginning July 28, 2011, in order to fight a new cancer and Nycole Turmel was appointed interim leader. Jack Layton died August 22, 2011.

Thomas Mulcair was elected leader of the NDP, and by extension Leader of the Opposition, at a leadership election held on March 24, 2012, and reshuffled the Shadow Cabinet on April 19, 2012. Craig Scott replaced Joe Comartin as Democratic Reform critic after the latter became Deputy Speaker in September 2012. On January 17, 2013, Mulcair replaced Hoang Mai with Murray Rankin as National Revenue critic. The shadow cabinet was last shuffled on March 20, 2014.

With the election of 2015, the Conservatives replaced the NDP as the Official oppostion.

Portfolio	Critic
Leader of the Opposition Leader of the NDP Intergovernmental Affairs	Hon. Thomas Mulcair
Deputy Leader of the NDP Health	Libby Davies
Deputy Leader of the NDP	David Christopherson
Deputy Leader of the NDP Environment	Megan Leslie
Opposition House Leader Caucus Chair	Peter Julian
Deputy Opposition House Leader Deputy Employment and Social Development	Sadia Groguhé
Opposition Whip	Nycole Turmel
Deputy Opposition Whip Deputy Fisheries (East Coast)	Philip Toone
Agriculture and Agri-Food	Malcolm Allen
Ethics, Access to Information and Privacy	Charlie Angus
Employment Insurance	Robert Aubin
Women	Niki Ashton
Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency	Dennis Bevington
Citizenship and Immigration	Lysane Blanchette-Lamothe
Justice	Françoise Boivin
Digital Issues	Charmaine Borg
Labour Deputy Ethics, Access to Information and Privacy	Alexandre Boulerice
Housing and Infrastructure	Marjolaine Boutin-Sweet
Multiculturalism	Andrew Cash
Energy and Natural Resources	Chris Charlton
Fisheries Deputy Employment Insurance	Robert Chisholm
Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency	Ryan Cleary
Aboriginal Affairs	Jean Crowder
Finance	Nathan Cullen
International Trade Deputy Multiculturalism	Don Davies
Employment Insurance	Anne-Marie Day
Foreign Affairs	Paul Dewar
La Francophonie	Pierre Dionne Labelle
Western Economic Diversification Canada	Linda Duncan
Sport Youth	Matthew Dubé
Public Safety LGBT Issues	Randall Garrison
Official Languages	Yvon Godin
Post-Secondary Education	Dan Harris
National Defence	Jack Harris
Urban Affairs Deputy Transport	Matthew Kellway
Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions	François Lapointe
International Development Deputy Foreign Affairs	Hélène Laverdière
Co-operatives	Hélène Leblanc
Transport	Hoang Mai
Human Rights Americas and Consular Affairs Deputy Labour	Wayne Marston
Public Works and Government Services	Pat Martin
Seniors Deputy Heritage	Irene Mathyssen
Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario Canada-US Border & Great Lakes	Brian Masse
Industry	Peggy Nash
Heritage	Pierre Nantel
Disabilities Issues	Mike Sullivan
Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario	John Rafferty
National Revenue Pensions	Murray Rankin
Treasury Board	Mathieu Ravignat
Economic Development Agency for the Regions of Quebec	Jean Rousseau
Asia–Pacific Gateway	Jasbir Sandhu
Democratic and Parliamentary Reform	Craig Scott
Employment and Social Development	Jinny Sims
Caucus Vice-chair	Rathika Sitsabaiesan
Science and Technology	Kennedy Stewart
Veterans Affairs	Peter Stoffer
Small Business and Tourism Consumer Protection	Brian Masse

Critics during the 41st Canadian Parliament

Critic	Portfolio	Duration
Hon. Thomas Mulcair	Leader of the Opposition	2012–2015
	Intergovernmental Affairs	2012–2015
	Leader of the NDP	2012–2015
	Deputy Leader of the NDP	2007–2012
	Opposition House Leader	2011
Hon. Jack Layton	Leader of the Opposition	2011
	Intergovernmental Affairs	2007–2011
	Leader of the NDP	2003–2011
Libby Davies	Health	2011–2015
	Deputy Leader of the NDP	2004–2015
David Christopherson	Deputy Leader of the NDP	2012–2015
	National Defence	2011–2012
	Democratic Reform (Minister of State)	2008–2012
Megan Leslie	Deputy Leader of the NDP	2012–2015
	Environment	2011–2015
Nathan Cullen	Opposition House Leader	2012–2015
	Associate Critic for Western Canada	2011
	Associate Critic for Natural Resources	2011
Sadia Groguhé	Deputy Opposition House Leader	2012–2015
	Deputy Critic for Citizenship, Immigration, and Multiculturalism	2011–2015
Nycole Turmel	Opposition Whip	2012–2015
	Leader of the Opposition	2011–2012
	Interim Leader of the NDP	2011–2012
	Intergovernmental Affairs	2011–2012
	Public Works and Governmental Services	2011
	National Caucus Chair	2011
Philip Toone	Deputy Opposition Whip	2011–2015
	Deputy Critic for Fisheries (East Coast)	2011–2015
Peter Julian	Energy and Natural Resources	2012–2015
	National Caucus Chair	2011–2015
	Finance	2011–2012
	Deputy National Caucus Chair	2011
	Industry	2011
Malcolm Allen	Agriculture and Agri-Food	2011–2015
Charlie Angus	Ethics, Access to Information, and Privacy	2011–2015
	Copyright and Digital Issues	2011–2012
Niki Ashton	Women	2012–2015
Robert Aubin	Deputy Critic for Transport, Infrastructure and Communities	2012–2015
	La Francophonie	2011–2012
Paulina Ayala	Deputy Critic for Americas and Consular Affairs	2012–2015
	Americas and Consular Affairs (Minister of State)	2011–2012
Tyrone Benskin	Deputy Critic for Official Languages	2012–2015
	Canadian Heritage	2011–2012
Dennis Bevington	Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency	2012–2015
	Associate Critic for Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development	2011–2012
Denis Blanchette	Deputy Critic for Public Works and Government Services	2012–2015
Lysane Blanchette-Lamothe	Seniors	2012–2015
	Deputy Critic for Seniors	2011–2012
Francoise Boivin	Justice	2012–2015
	Status of Women	2011–2012
	Deputy Critic for Justice	2011–2012
Charmaine Borg	Digital Issues	2012–2015
Alexandre Boulerice	Labour	2012–2015
	Deputy Critic for Ethics, Access to Information and Privacy	2012–
	Treasury Board	2011–2012
Marjolaine Boutin-Sweet	Housing	2012–2015
	Deputy Critic for Human Resources and Skills Development	2012–2015
	Skills (Human Resources and Skills Development)	2011–2012
Tarik Brahmi	Deputy Critic for Consumer Protection	2011–2012
Ruth Ellen Brosseau	Deputy Critic for Agriculture	2012–2015
Guy Caron	Deputy Critic for Finance	2012–
	Deputy Critic for International Trade	2012–2015
	Industry	2011–2012
Andrew Cash	Deputy Critic for Canadian Heritage	2012–2015
	Deputy Critic for Housing	2011–2012
Chris Charlton	Human Resources and Skills Development	2012–2015
	Opposition Whip	2011–2012
Sylvain Chicoine	Deputy Critic for Veterans Affairs	2012–2015
	Deputy Critic for Public Safety	2011–2012
Robert Chisholm	Fisheries	2012–2015
	Atlantic Gateway	2012–2015
	Deputy Critic for Intergovernmental Affairs	2012–2015
	International Trade	2011
Olivia Chow	Transport, Infrastructure and Communities	2011–2015
Ryan Cleary	Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency	2012–2015
	Post-Secondary Education	2012–2015
Joe Comartin	Opposition House Leader	2011–2012
	Justice	2009–2011
	Deputy Opposition House Leader	2011
Raymond Côté	Small Business and Tourism (Minister of State)	2011–2012
Jean Crowder	Aboriginal Affairs	2012–2015
	Human Resources and Skills Development	2011–2012
Don Davies	International Trade	2012–2015
	Citizenship and Immigration	2011–2012
	Multiculturalism	2008–2012
Anne-Marie Day	Employment Insurance	2012–2015
	Deputy Critic for Human Resources and Skills Development	2011–2012
Paul Dewar	Foreign Affairs	2012–2015
		2007–2011
Pierre Dionne Labelle	La Francophonie	2012–2015
	Deputy Critic for the CRTC, Copyright, and Digital Issues	2011–2012
Fin Donnelly	Western Economic Diversification Canada	2012–2015
	Deputy Critic for Fisheries (West Coast)	2012–2015
	Fisheries and Oceans	2011–2012
Rosane Doré Lefebvre	Deputy Critic for Public Safety	2012–2015
	Deputy National Caucus Chair	2011–2012
Matthew Dubé	Sport	2012–2015
	Deputy Critic for Post-Secondary Education	2011–2012
Linda Duncan	Public Works and Governmental Services	2012–2015
	Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development	2011–2012
Randall Garrison	Public Safety	2012–2015
	LGBT Issues	2011–2015
Jonathan Genest-Jourdain	Deputy Critic for Aboriginal Affairs	2011–2015
Alain Giguère	Deputy Critic for Pensions	2011–2015
Yvon Godin	Official Languages	2007–2015
	Labour	2011–2012
Claude Gravelle	Natural Resources	2011–2012
Dan Harris	Deputy Critic for Industry	2012–2015
	Deputy Critic for Science and Technology	2011–2012
Jack Harris	National Defence	2012–2015
		2006–2011
	Justice	2011–2012
Carol Hughes	Deputy Critic for Aboriginal Health	2012–2015
Bruce Hyer	Associate Critic for Biodiversity and Parks	2011
	Deputy Critic for Small Business and Tourism	2011
Matthew Kellway	Military Procurement (Associate Minister of National Defence)	2012–2015
	Deputy Critic for Military Procurement	2011–2012
François Lapointe	Small Business and Tourism	2012–2015
Alexandrine Latendresse	Deputy Critic for Democratic Reform	2011–2015
Hélène Laverdière	International Development	2012–2015
	Americas and Consular Affairs	2012–2015
	Foreign Affairs	2011–2012
	Deputy Opposition House Leader	2011–2012
	Minister for International Cooperation	2011
	Deputy Critic for Foreign Affairs	2011
Hélène Leblanc	Industry	2012–2015
	Science and Technology (Minister of State)	2011–2012
Laurin Liu	Deputy Critic for Science and Technology	2012–2015
	Deputy Critic for the Environment	2011–2012
Hoang Mai	Deputy Critic for Justice	2013–2015
	National Revenue	2011–2013
Wayne Marston	Human Rights	2011–2015
	Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario	2012–2015
	Pensions (Minister of State)	2008–2012
Pat Martin	Canadian Wheat Board	2011–2015
Brian Masse	US–Canada Border	2012–2015
	Ontario–Quebec Continental Gateway	2012–2015
	International Trade	2011–2012
	Associate Critic for High-Speed Rail and the US–Canada Border	2011–2012
Irene Mathyssen	Pensions	2012–2015
	Seniors (Minister of State)	2011–2012
Christine Moore	Deputy Critic for National Defence	2012–2015
	Military Procurement (Associate Minister of National Defence)	2011–2012
Dany Morin	Deputy Critic for LGBT Issues	2011–2015
Marie-Claude Morin	Housing (Human Resources and Skills Development)	2011–2012
Pierre Nantel	Heritage	2012–2015
	Sport (Minister of State)	2011
Peggy Nash	Finance	2012–2015
		2011
Jamie Nicholls	Deputy Critic for Natural Resources	2012–2015
	Deputy Critic for Transport, Infrastructure, and Communities	2011–2012
Annick Papillon	Deputy Critic for Consumer Protection	2012–2015
	Deputy Critic for Veterans' Affairs	2011–2012
Claude Patry	Employment Insurance (Human Resources and Skills Development)	2011–2012
Ève Péclet	Deputy Critic for Foreign Affairs	2012–2015
Manon Perreault	Disabilities	2011–
Anne Minh-Thu Quach	Deputy Critic for the Environment	2012–2015
	Deputy Critic for Health	2011–2012
John Rafferty	Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario	2012–2015
Mathieu Ravignat	Treasury Board	2012–2015
	Public Works and Governmental Services	2011–2012
	Deputy Critic for International Trade	2011
Jean Rousseau	Economic Development Agency for the Regions of Quebec	2012–
	Deputy Critic for Agriculture and Agri-Food	2011–2012
Romeo Saganash	Deputy Critic for Intergovernmental Aboriginal Affairs	2013–2015
	International Development	2012
	Deputy Critic for International Trade	2012
	Natural Resources	2011
Jasbir Sandhu	Asia–Pacific Gateway	2012–2015
	Public Safety	2011–2012
Craig Scott	Democratic Reform	2012–2015
	Deputy Critic for Justice	2012–2013
Djaouida Sellah	Deputy Critic for Health	2012–2015
Jinny Sims	Immigration, Citizenship and Multiculturalism	2012–2015
	Minister for International Cooperation	2011–2012
	Associate Critic for Foreign Affairs	2011–2012
	Associate Critic for Consular Services	2011
Rathika Sitsabaiesan	Deputy National Caucus Chair	2012–2015
	Post-Secondary Education (Human Resources and Skills Development)	2011–2012
Kennedy Stewart	Science and Technology	2012–2015
	Associate Critic for Natural Resources (Western Canada)	2011–2012
Peter Stoffer	Veterans Affairs	2004–2015
	Shipbuilding	2011–2012
Mike Sullivan	Deputy Critic for Persons with Disabilities	2011–2015
	Deputy Critic for Housing	2012–2015
Glenn Thibeault	Consumer Protection (Industry)	2008–2015
	Sport (Minister of State)	2011–2012
Murray Rankin	National Revenue	2013–2015

See also

• New Democratic Party Shadow Cabinet of the 40th Parliament of Canada
• Liberal Party Shadow Cabinet of the 41st Parliament of Canada
• Bloc Québécois Shadow Cabinet of the 41st Parliament of Canada
• Cabinet of Canada
• Official Opposition (Canada)
• Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet (British Columbia)
• Shadow Cabinet