Soraya Martinez Ferrada, from refugee to minister

Soraya Martinez Ferrada, new Minister of Tourism and Minister responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec.

Tuesday was consecration day for the federal deputy for Hochelaga, Soraya Martinez Ferrada. Returning hastily from her vacation for her swearing-in, the elected official entered the Council of Ministers of the Government of Canada after the biggest cabinet reshuffle of the reign of Justin Trudeau. Métro spoke with the new Minister of Tourism and Minister responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec.

1. If you had been told at a young age that you would become a minister in the Government of Canada, would you have believed it?

Not at all! It's incredible. It was the Prime Minister's father [Pierre Elliott Trudeau] who brought the 2,500 Chilean refugees to Canada, including my family. There, it is his son [Justin Trudeau] who appoints me minister. It's a great story.

I come from a working family, which has survived financially all these years. I never thought it would come to this.

2. There are now two ministers in the Trudeau Cabinet who are elected from the east of Montreal, with Pablo Rodriguez, new Minister of Transport and MP for Honoré-Mercier, in addition to you. What does this mean for people from the East?

The last time there was a minister who was a federal deputy for Hochelaga was in the 1970s [ Editor's note: Gérard Pelletier].

It reinforces the work that Pablo is doing, and that all the deputies are doing in the East. It reinforces the political weight of the east end of Montreal, which is a good thing considering the many challenges facing the east for the next 20 years.

That said, my role as minister is not just for the east end of Montreal. Yes, the East will be well served in terms of ministerial weight, but Pablo and I will work for all of Canada, and for all of Quebec.

3. You have been appointed Minister of Tourism and Minister responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec. Why are you the right person to take care of these portfolios?

I have experience in the cultural and recreational tourism sector [Editor’s note: notably as the founder of TOHU]. It is an important vector for attracting tourists. We see it in Montreal, and we see it elsewhere.

I see the ability of cities to attract tourism with their events. We want to go up the tourist curve after the pandemic. We are not yet quite at the level where we were before the pandemic.

I am a girl of consultation, from the community environment. To now find myself in sectors, both for tourism and for economic development, where I have to make people work together, that's my strength.

4. What are the priority issues for tourism in Canada and economic development in Quebec?

For tourism, I have already mentioned it, but we really want to find the traffic we had before the pandemic. Also, this year we developed the Canadian Tourism Growth Strategy. This strategy comes with money. The first thing to do is to meet my teams to see where we are at and what are the next steps for the deployment of this strategy.

Otherwise, with regard to economic development, Quebec businesses have several challenges. We must support them in the digital transition and in their green shift towards sustainable development.

There is also the question of jobs. Not only to have good jobs, but also to have the right people in those jobs. It means putting the emphasis on training, on competence. In addition, we will not hide it, we have a shortage of manpower. So we have to work to bring the workers we need here.

5. An Abacus poll released yesterday brought very bad news for the Liberal Party of Canada, which is ten points behind the Conservative Party in voting intentions (28% versus 38%). How can a major cabinet reshuffle like yesterday turn the tide?

I would distinguish between these two statements.

In 2019, I was elected when the polls gave me the loser by 14 points. It's a cliché in politics, but the real poll is on voting day.

The cabinet reshuffle, what it does, is breathe new life into our different files. Seven new ministers is not nothing. We felt it yesterday, with the Council of Ministers, this excitement and this renewed energy there.

*The above answers have been edited by the author for brevity.