Poilievre shuffles critic roles in Conservative caucus, moves Chong to finance

Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre speaks in the in the Foyer of the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Monday, March 9, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Spencer Colby

OTTAWA -- Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has shuffled his front bench lineup and has named Ontario MP Michael Chong as the party’s new finance critic.

Chong, a veteran MP who served as the Conservative foreign affairs critic for the last six years, replaces Alberta MP Jasraj Hallan in finance. Hallan moves to the national revenue file.

B.C. MP Aaron Gunn is taking over the ethics and government accountability critic role from Ontario MP Michael Barrett, who moves to veterans affairs.

The change comes as the House ethics committee prepares to discuss whether there should be a conflict-of-interest investigation of Ottawa’s plan to work with the B.C. government to buy out unsold condos in that province.

Conservative MP John Brassard, who chairs the ethics committee, said in a Monday letter to Poilievre the decision on launching an investigation will be up to the committee’s majority. The Liberals hold five voting seats on the 10-member committee.

Alberta MP Shuv Majumdar is now the party’s critic for Canada-U.S. relations -- an important file as the countries prepare to enter the formal review period for the Canada, U.S., Mexico agreement on trade, better known as CUSMA, that begins Wednesday.

Ontario MP Shelby Kramp-Neuman, who held that role when the title was critic for Canada-U.S. trade, will now will be special adviser for Ontario.

A notable absence from Poilievre’s critic team is Ontario MP Jamil Jivani, who has made trips to the U.S. himself to meet with President Donald Trump and Vice-President J.D. Vance, his friend from law school.

Poilievre’s senior leadership team, including his deputies and House leader, remains unchanged.

Including associate critics and Poilievre himself, there are 84 critics in the 120-member Conservative caucus.

Poilievre last shuffled the critic roles in May 2025 after the general election.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 30, 2026.

David Baxter, The Canadian Press