Deputy prime minister, the new cabinet role resurrected from political history for Chrystia Freeland, has traditionally been offered by prime ministers as they get on in years and build up a little political mud on their boots. Harper, among the more autocratic Canadian prime ministers, never appointed one. The job has a history of meaning different things under different prime ministers. But more recently, in 2010, prime minister David Cameron appointed former Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg as deputy prime minister in his coalition government, in which Clegg controlled the balance of votes and even answered for Cameron at Prime Minister’s Questions but was often the butt of jokes about being a toady to the real power brokers. As point-woman on this issue, Freeland will take charge of the intergovernmental affairs department, which will be renamed domestic affairs.

Source: National Post November 20, 2019 21:16 UTC