Dominic A. LeBlanc (born December 14, 1967) is a Canadian lawyer and politician who serves as President of the King's Privy Council for Canada, Minister responsible for Canada-U.S. Trade, Intergovernmental Affairs and One Canadian Economy, and Minister of Internal Trade. A member of the Liberal Party, LeBlanc is the member of Parliament (MP) for Beauséjour since 2000. He has held several Cabinet portfolios throughout his tenure in government as LeBlanc is often described as a political "fixer," frequently appointed to departments in need of stabilization or facing controversy. His retention and promotion under both Justin Trudeau and Mark Carney have been noted as evidence of his cross-factional credibility and role as a steadying force in Cabinet.
The son of former governor general Roméo LeBlanc, he ran for the leadership of the Liberal Party in 2008 but dropped out of the race to endorse Michael Ignatieff, who was later acclaimed leader.
In the cabinet of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, LeBlanc served as the leader of the Government in the House of Commons from 2015 to 2016. He served as Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard from 2016 to 2018 and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Northern Affairs and Internal Trade from 2018 to 2019. He also served as President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada from 2018 to 2021 and began a second stint as Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs in 2020. After the 2021 federal election, LeBlanc remained as minister of intergovernmental affairs but additionally became minister of infrastructure and communities. In 2023, LeBlanc became Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs, gaining responsibility for public safety and democratic institutions while remaining minister of intergovernmental affairs. In December 2024, following the resignation of Chrystia Freeland, LeBlanc became Minister of Finance and he gave up the responsibility for Public Safety and Democratic Institutions while keeping Intergovernmental Affairs and the border security portfolio.
Early life and education LeBlanc was born in 1967, of Acadian descent, at the Ottawa Civic Hospital in Ottawa, Ontario, to Joslyn "Lyn" ( Carter) and Roméo LeBlanc, a former MP, senator and 25th governor general of Canada. At the time, his father was press secretary to Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson.
As a child, he baby-sat the children of then-prime minister Pierre Trudeau, including Justin Trudeau. He remained friends with Justin Trudeau and endorsed Trudeau's candidacy for Liberal leader in 2012.
LeBlanc attended Lisgar Collegiate Institute in Ottawa for high school. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from the University of Toronto (Trinity College) and a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of New Brunswick, and then attended Harvard Law School, where he obtained his Master of Laws degree. LeBlanc worked as a barrister and solicitor with Clark Drummie in Shediac and Moncton. From 1993 to 1996, LeBlanc was a Special Advisor to Prime Minister Jean Chrétien.
Political career (1997–present) LeBlanc is member of the Liberal Party of Canada in the House of Commons of Canada, representing the riding of Beauséjour in New Brunswick.
LeBlanc first ran for election in that riding in 1997, losing to New Democratic Party candidate Angela Vautour. During that race there were accusations of political patronage as LeBlanc's father was the sitting viceroy, and there was criticism that the governor general had a series of events planned in New Brunswick during the week that the election writs dropped.
In 2000 LeBlanc once again ran against Vautour, who had crossed the floor to join the Progressive Conservative party, and was elected. LeBlanc was re-elected in 2004 (where he faced Vautour for a third time), 2006, 2008, 2011, 2015, 2019, and 2021.
Chrétien and Martin governments During the Liberal Party's time in power LeBlanc served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence, from January 13, 2003, to December 11, 2003, and was the chair of the Atlantic Caucus.
On July 10, 2004, he was sworn in as a member of the Privy Council for Canada and appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Deputy Chief Government Whip. He has served on the Special Committee on Non-Medical Use of Drugs, and the Standing Committees on Fisheries and Oceans, Transport and Government Operations, National Defence and Veterans Affairs, Public Accounts, Procedures and House Affairs, International Trade, and Justice and Human Rights.
In opposition In January 2006, he was named Official Opposition critic for international trade and later that year he was co-chair of the 2006 Liberal Party leadership convention in Montreal. In January 2007, he was named by the Honourable Stéphane Dion, Vice Chair – Liberal Party of Canada Policy and Platform Committee and In October of that year, he was named Official Opposition critic for intergovernmental affairs. In January 2009, he was named by Michael Ignatieff as the critic for justice and attorney general. Before the return of Parliament in September 2010, Ignatieff shuffled his Shadow Cabinet and appointed LeBlanc as the Liberal critic for national defence. Following LeBlanc's re-election in the 2011 federal election, interim Liberal leader Bob Rae appointed LeBlanc as the Liberal Party's foreign affairs critic.
2008 leadership bid
On October 27, 2008, LeBlanc was the first candidate to officially announce his intention to seek the leadership of the Liberal party to replace Stéphane Dion. Former leadership candidates Michael Ignatieff and Bob Rae came forward shortly after LeBlanc's announcement. His supporters included top staffers in the prime minister's office under Jean Chrétien, such as his former chief of staff Percy Downe, and Tim Murphy, chief of staff under Paul Martin. Some senior organizers in Gerard Kennedy's 2006 leadership bid also supported LeBlanc.Beausejour MP to run for federal Liberal leadership, wants to be a voice for middle-class, younger generation
On December 8, 2008, LeBlanc announced he was dropping out of the leadership race because he felt a new leader needed to be in place as soon as possible and that he was throwing his support behind Ignatieff. The next day Rae dropped out of the race and Ignatieff was acclaimed leader when Dion stepped down.
41st Canadian Parliament LeBlanc retained his seat in the 2011 election, the only Liberal to be elected in New Brunswick, while the Liberals dropped down to third place in the House of Commons.
Following Ignatieff's resignation as leader, LeBlanc was seen as a potential leadership candidate. LeBlanc did not say whether he was considering a bid but hoped to be part of the "rebuilding and renewal" of the party. Later, LeBlanc said that the next leader needs to commit 10 to 15 years of his or her life "occupied exclusively" with rebuilding the Liberal party and winning elections. On October 5, 2012, he announced he would not stand for the leadership and instead endorsed Justin Trudeau.
From 2012 to 2015, LeBlanc served as the Liberal opposition house leader.
In government 42nd Canadian Parliament
Leader of the Government in the House of Commons On November 4, 2015, he was appointed the leader of the Government in the House of Commons in the present Cabinet, headed by Justin Trudeau.
As Government House Leader, LeBlanc was an ex officio member of the Board of Internal Economy, a committee of Members of Parliament chaired by the Speaker of the House of Commons who oversees the internal affairs of the House of Commons. He had previously been a member of committee as the Liberal Party’s House Leader while in opposition from 2012 to 2015, and continued to serve on the Board until October 26, 2023.
During his tenure as House Leader, LeBlanc introduced Bill C-22, which created the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians, a committee composed of Members of Parliament and Senators equipped with top-secret security clearances and with a mandate to conduct oversight of the work of Canada’s national security and intelligence community. The committee is the first body of its kind in Canada, offering parliamentarians an unprecedented view into highly classified intelligence and activities conducted by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), the Communications Security Establishment (CSE), the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and Global Affairs Canada. It produces classified and unclassified reports which are shared with the Prime Minister. The classified version of the report is subsequently tabled in Parliament and released publicly.
Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard On May 31, 2016, upon the resignation of Hunter Tootoo from the Ministry, LeBlanc was named Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard. His father had previously held the equivalent position under Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. He retained the post of Government House Leader until August 19 of that year.
During his tenure as Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, LeBlanc modernized the Fisheries Act, strengthening the provisions contained in the legislation regarding the protection of fish stocks and fish habitat. He also introduced legislation amending the Oceans Act and the Canada Petroleum Resources Act to establish a national network of Marine Protected Areas, a novel type of conservation measure in Canada. Since then, 14 Oceans Act Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) have been established across Canada, comprising over 350,000 km² or roughly 6% of Canada’s marine and coastal areas, contributing to Canada’s goal of protecting 30% of its marine areas by 2030, in accordance with its international commitments.
LeBlanc’s tenure was also marked by heightened concerns regarding the entanglement of North Atlantic Right Whales, an endangered species, in fishing gear, leading to the death of several cetaceans. In response, LeBlanc engaged with industry groups, Indigenous communities and United States fishing authorities to develop new fishing gear and implement seasonal restrictions to maritime traffic to reduce the risk of entanglement and collisions.
On September 12, 2018, the ethics commissioner, Mario Dion, found LeBlanc broke conflict of interest rules when he awarded a lucrative Arctic surf clam licence to a company linked to his wife's cousin in February 2018.
LeBlanc was also a lead minister behind the Atlantic Growth Strategy, an intergovernmental forum comprising all four Atlantic premiers and all Atlantic federal ministers launched on July 4, 2016. The Strategy’s goal is to attract newcomers and investment to Atlantic Canada by enabling collaboration between the federal government and Atlantic provinces on immigration, innovation, clean technology, trade and investment, and infrastructure.
Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Northern Affairs and Internal Trade On July 18, 2018, LeBlanc was shuffled from Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard to Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Northern Affairs and Internal Trade He also became vice-chair of the Cabinet Committee on Agenda, Results and Communications, which is manages the government’s overall strategic agenda and priority setting, and tracks implementation, which is chaired by the Prime Minister.
As Minister of Northern Affairs, LeBlanc shepherded legislation amending the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act to give Indigenous communities in the Northwest Territories and the surrounding region a greater say in the management of resource development projects.