Randy Boissonnault steps down from cabinet amid controversies, embarrassing scandals

Randy Boissonnault, a controversial Liberal MP, is out as Minister of Employment, following several controversies that have plagued his tenure in elected office. 

They include conflicting aboriginal heritage claims, sharing a mailbox with a woman held in a drug bust, and ongoing allegations of fraud with his former company, Global Health Imports (GHI), and business partner Stephen Anderson.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, in a brief statement Wednesday, said Boissonnault “agreed … [to] step away from cabinet effective immediately.”

“Mr. Boissonnault will focus on clearing the allegations made against him,” writes staff with the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). 

WATCH: Three Conservative MPs — Michelle Rempel Garner, Michael Barrett and Rick Perkins — were kicked out of the House of Commons by Speaker Greg Fergus over comments calling Environment Minister Randy Boissonnault a fake Indigenous fraudster. pic.twitter.com/ta0q0JptJx

Boissonnault, a “non-status adopted Cree,” faced considerable pushback after GHI, the company that he co-founded with Anderson, failed to secure federal contracts under the guise of Indigenous ownership. He was not serving in elected office at the time the 2020 bids were made — the same year the company was founded.

Meanwhile, GHI secured millions of dollars in federal contracts, not specifically allocated for Indigenous enterprises.

Boissonnault was previously named in a series of September 2022 texts involving business associates, including Anderson, who is also subject to several fraud suits, of which the MP is not named. Those allegations against GHI and Anderson are now under investigation by Edmonton police, reported Global News.

Additionally, Anderson registered a numbered company with Francheska Leblond, a woman detained in a 2022 cocaine bust, and whom GHI shares a mailbox with.

At the time, Boissonnault held half the company’s shares, which he renounced this summer. The now-former MP denied ever meeting the woman.

Michael Barrett, a Conservative MP, previously tabled a motion to find Anderson in contempt of Parliament for refusing to answer questions across several ethics committee meetings. That motion remains under scrutiny by Parliament, reported CBC News.

Boissonnault has repeatedly denied any involvement with GHI since his re-election in 2021, even publicly ridiculing and distancing himself from Anderson.

The MP faced calls to resign as late as Tuesday afternoon. 

“What kind of message is the government sending by allowing him [Boissonnault] to sit in cabinet?” said Conservative MP Michelle Rempel-Garner during a heavily contested Question Period. “That Liberal minister falsely claimed Indigenous identity, his company received contracts using that stolen identity, apparently while consorting cocaine dealers."

Alex Dhaliwal

Calgary Based Journalist

Alex Dhaliwal is a Political Science graduate from the University of Calgary. He has actively written on relevant Canadian issues with several prominent interviews under his belt.