Rachel Bendayan, known in Canada as the first Moroccan-born woman appointed minister in Justin Trudeau's government, has been reappointed to the federal executive led by Mark Carney. In this new cabinet, which includes 23 members alongside the Prime Minister, the lawyer by training is now in charge of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship. On social media, she expressed her honor in being sworn in and thanked the Prime Minister for his trust. «Honoured to be sworn in today as Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship», she wrote. In the previous government, Bendayan served as Minister of Official Languages and Associate Minister of Security. Born in 1980 in Montreal, Bendayan first ran for federal office in 2015, where she was defeated by Thomas Mulcair. She was later elected as a Member of Parliament for the first time in a February 25, 2019 by-election for the Outremont riding. Coming from a Moroccan-Jewish family, Rachel Bendayan studied law at McGill University. A lawyer since 2007, she specializes in commercial litigation and international arbitration and also teaches at the University of Montreal. She has held various roles, including Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance, and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Small Business and International Trade. In December 2024, she was appointed as a federal minister. The new Cabinet, which includes Rachel Bendayan as Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship, was unveiled on Friday by the new Canadian Prime Minister, Mark Carney. The cabinet's size has been reduced from 38 members to 23 compared to the previous government. Mark Carney, leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, succeeded Justin Trudeau. He was elected party leader on March 9 and sworn in as Prime Minister five days later.
