Dear Ms.

Bibeau:
I am honoured that you have agreed to serve Canadians as Minister of International Development and
La Francophonie. You will be part of a strong team of ministers led by the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
We have promised Canadians a government that will bring real change – in both what we do and how
we do it. Canadians sent a clear message in this election, and our platform offered a new, ambitious
plan for a strong and growing middle class. Canadians expect us to fulfill our commitments, and it is
my expectation that you will do your part in delivering on those promises to Canadians.
We made a commitment to invest in growing our economy, strengthening the middle class, and helping
those working hard to join it. We committed to provide more direct help to those who need it by giving
less to those who do not. We committed to public investment as the best way to spur economic growth,
job creation, and broad-based prosperity. We committed to a responsible, transparent fiscal plan for
challenging economic times.
I expect Canadians to hold us accountable for delivering these commitments, and I expect all ministers
to do their part – individually and collectively – to improve economic opportunity and security for
Canadians.
It is my expectation that we will deliver real results and professional government to Canadians. To
ensure that we have a strong focus on results, I will expect Cabinet committees and individual ministers
to: track and report on the progress of our commitments; assess the effectiveness of our work; and
align our resources with priorities, in order to get the results we want and Canadians deserve.
If we are to tackle the real challenges we face as a country – from a struggling middle class to the
threat of climate change – Canadians need to have faith in their government’s honesty and willingness
to listen. I expect that our work will be informed by performance measurement, evidence, and feedback
from Canadians. We will direct our resources to those initiatives that are having the greatest, positive
impact on the lives of Canadians, and that will allow us to meet our commitments to them. I expect you
to report regularly on your progress toward fulfilling our commitments and to help develop effective
measures that assess the impact of the organizations for which you are answerable.
I made a personal commitment to bring new leadership and a new tone to Ottawa. We made a
commitment to Canadians to pursue our goals with a renewed sense of collaboration. Improved
partnerships with provincial, territorial, and municipal governments are essential to deliver the real,
positive change that we promised Canadians. No relationship is more important to me and to Canada
than the one with Indigenous Peoples. It is time for a renewed, nation-to-nation relationship with
Indigenous Peoples, based on recognition of rights, respect, co-operation, and partnership.
We have also committed to set a higher bar for openness and transparency in government. It is time to
shine more light on government to ensure it remains focused on the people it serves. Government and
its information should be open by default. If we want Canadians to trust their government, we need a
government that trusts Canadians. It is important that we acknowledge mistakes when we make them.
Canadians do not expect us to be perfect – they expect us to be honest, open, and sincere in our
efforts to serve the public interest.
Our platform guides our government. Over the course of our four-year mandate, I expect us to deliver
on all of our commitments. It is our collective responsibility to ensure that we fulfill our promises, while
 living within our fiscal plan. Other issues will arise or will be brought to our attention by Canadians,
stakeholders, and the public service. It is my expectation that you will engage constructively and
thoughtfully and add priorities to your agenda when appropriate.
As Minister, you will be held accountable for our commitment to bring a different style of leadership to
government. This will include: close collaboration with your colleagues; meaningful engagement with
Opposition Members of Parliament, Parliamentary Committees and the public service; constructive
dialogue with Canadians, civil society, and stakeholders, including business, organized labour, the
broader public sector, and the not-for-profit and charitable sectors; and identifying ways to find solutions
and avoid escalating conflicts unnecessarily. As well, members of the Parliamentary Press Gallery,
indeed all journalists in Canada and abroad, are professionals who, by asking necessary questions,
contribute in an important way to the democratic process. Your professionalism and engagement with
them is essential.
Canadians expect us, in our work, to reflect the values we all embrace: inclusion, honesty, hard work,
fiscal prudence, and generosity of spirit. We will be a government that governs for all Canadians, and I
expect you, in your work, to bring Canadians together.
You are expected to do your part to fulfill our government’s commitment to transparent, merit-based
appointments, to help ensure gender parity and that Indigenous Canadians and minority groups are
better reflected in positions of leadership.
As Minister of International Development and La Francophonie, your overarching goal will be to lead
Canada’s efforts to provide humanitarian assistance to help reduce poverty and inequality in the world.
In particular, I will expect you to work with your colleagues and through established legislative,
regulatory, and Cabinet processes to deliver on your top priorities:

 Refocus Canada’s development assistance on helping the poorest and most vulnerable, and supporting
fragile states. This would include:
o consulting with Canadian stakeholders and international aid organizations to create a new policy and
funding framework to guide Canada’s aid decisions, empower people, and support broad-based,
sustainable growth in the developing world;
o supporting the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, a global set of
development goals adopted by the United Nations in September 2015;
o working with the Minister of Foreign Affairs to champion the values of inclusive and accountable
governance, peaceful pluralism, respect for diversity, and human rights including the rights of women
and refugees;
o ensuring that Canada’s valuable development focus on Maternal, Newborn and Child Health is driven
by evidence and outcomes, not ideology, including by closing existing gaps in reproductive rights and
health care for women;
o making Canada a leader in development innovation and effectiveness, including by strengthening aid
transparency and supporting better data collection and analysis, and by examining current and new aid
delivery mechanisms and partnerships; and
o in collaboration with the Minister of Environment and Climate Change and the Minister of Finance,
providing assistance to countries that are vulnerable to the destabilizing effects of climate change,
including through climate finance.
 Work with the Minister of Finance on development financing issues.

 Work with the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship on international migration issues, and
on our commitment to resettle 25,000 refugees from Syria.

 Work with me, and the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour, to integrate
international opportunities into the Youth Service Program.

 Ensure Canada’s strong and sustained engagement in the Organisation internationale de la

These priorities draw heavily from our election platform commitments. The government’s agenda will
be further articulated through Cabinet discussions and in the Speech from the Throne when Parliament
opens.
I expect you to work closely with your Deputy Minister and his or her senior officials to ensure that the
ongoing work of your department is undertaken in a professional manner and that decisions are made
in the public interest. Your Deputy Minister will brief you on issues your department may be facing that
may require decisions to be made quickly. It is my expectation that you will apply our values and
principles to these decisions, so that issues facing your department are dealt with in a timely and
responsible manner, and in a way that is consistent with the overall direction of our government.
Our ability, as a government, to successfully implement our platform depends on our ability to
thoughtfully consider the professional, non-partisan advice of public servants. Each and every time a
government employee comes to work, they do so in service to Canada, with a goal of improving our
country and the lives of all Canadians. I expect you to establish a collaborative working relationship
with your Deputy Minister, whose role, and the role of public servants under his or her direction, is to
support you in the performance of your responsibilities.
In the coming weeks, the Privy Council Office (PCO) will be contacting you to set up a meeting with
PCO officials, your Deputy Minister and the Prime Minister’s Office to further discuss your plans,
commitments and priorities.
We have committed to an open, honest government that is accountable to Canadians, lives up to the
highest ethical standards, and applies the utmost care and prudence in the handling of public funds. I
expect you to embody these values in your work and observe the highest ethical standards in
everything you do. When dealing with our Cabinet colleagues, Parliament, stakeholders, or the public,
it is important that your behaviour and decisions meet Canadians’ well-founded expectations of our
government. I want Canadians to look on their own government with pride and trust.
As Minister, you must ensure that you are aware of and fully compliant with the Conflict of Interest
Act and Treasury Board policies and guidelines. You will be provided with a copy of Open and
Accountable Government to assist you as you undertake your responsibilities. I ask that you carefully
read it and ensure that your staff does so as well. I draw your attention in particular to the Ethical
Guidelines set out in Annex A of that document, which apply to you and your staff. As noted in the
Guidelines, you must uphold the highest standards of honesty and impartiality, and both the
performance of your official duties and the arrangement of your private affairs should bear the closest
public scrutiny. This is an obligation that is not fully discharged by simply acting within the law. Please
also review the areas of Open and Accountable Government that we have expanded or strengthened,
including the guidance on non-partisan use of departmental communications resources and the new
code of conduct for exempt staff.
I know I can count on you to fulfill the important responsibilities entrusted in you. In turn, please know
that you can count on me to support you every day in your role as Minister.
I am deeply grateful to have this opportunity to serve with you as we build an even greater country.
Together, we will work tirelessly to honour the trust Canadians have given us.
Yours sincerely,
Rt. Hon. Justin Trudeau, P.C., M.P.
Prime Minister of Canada
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