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In today’s edition:

→ Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU plays musical chairs with his front bench today. Finance Minister CHRYSTIA FREELAND and Foreign Affairs Minister MÉLANIE JOLY are staying put

→ MICHAEL WERNICK takes us through what’s next after the swearing-in ceremony

WHITEBOARDS TO RIDEAU HALL — Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU’s Cabinet shuffle will be revealed today, installing power, in the form of new calendars and to-do lists, to a fresh cohort of ministers.

Seven incumbent ministers will leave Cabinet and seven new faces will join it by the end of the morning.

Housing is expected to get more prominence. It will be untethered from AHMED HUSSEN’s diversity and inclusion ministry and attached to a higher profile portfolio.

Expect the Trudeau government to pay more attention to the Treasury Board, procurement, social development and employment in the lead up to the next election.

— Why now, according to the PMO’s narrative: To improve communication in key portfolios that touch the economy as Trudeau works to reset the agenda post-Covid.

— Why really now: There are 817 days until the next fixed date election in 2025. Trudeau’s Liberal government is halfway through its second minority mandate and Liberals sense a whupping in the next campaign on their economic record unless they make some changes.

— Communications test: Trudeau is expected to frame the shuffle as a refresh of the team that will lead his Liberals to their fourth re-election — when the time comes.

— Make way for Rideau Hall: By now, Privy Council Clerk JOHN HANNAFORD has called deputy ministers in the ministries involved in today’s shuffle to invite them to the swearing-in ceremony because they’re getting a new boss.

Former clerk MICHAEL WERNICK tells Playbook that deputy ministers “kind of earn their pay” in these moments, serving as key players during the ministerial handoff and helping to ensure continuity in a department.

— Lost in the details: Often overlooked on days like this is the quick offboarding of outgoing ministers and staff — and the logistics of sorting resources and equipment like cars, phones, laptops and keys to the office.

— First, though: Trudeau will convene the first meeting of his newly refashioned Cabinet this afternoon.

Time with family is often a top priority on a new Cabinet minister’s first day, Wernick says.

“It’s not like they’re all going to plunge into briefings right away,” he tells Playbook. Those sessions will take place in the days and weeks ahead, depending on the minister.

“I had STÉPHANE DION in ’96 show up directly from Rideau Hall in his backpack and jacket and we spent the whole afternoon briefing him,” Wernick said. “He’s a keener.”

— Who’s staying put: A senior government official not authorized to speak about the shuffle publicly tells Playbook CHRYSTIA FREELAND and MÉLANIE JOLY won’t be moving. Leaks have named FRANÇOIS-PHILIPPE CHAMPAGNE and STEVEN GUILBEAULT as two ministers who will also keep their current portfolios.

— Who’s out: CAROLYN BENNETT, HELENA JACZEK, OMAR ALGHABRA and JOYCE MURRAY have confirmed they’re not in it to win it for the next election. Media leaks have added MONA FORTIER, MARCO MENDICINO and DAVID LAMETTI’s names as others who aren’t re-offering.

— What else: Globe reporting moves PABLO RODRIGUEZ to the transport beat with PASCALE ST-ONGE taking over heritage.

CTV and other media sources place Emergency Preparedness Minister BILL BLAIR at defense.

The Star has House Leader MARK HOLLAND taking over at health.

Amidst the swirl on Tuesday, former minister CATHERINE MCKENNA tweeted: “Reminded how happy I am to be out of politics watching bonkers Cabinet shuffle speculation.”

— What’s next: New ministers will get briefing materials in the form of tablets and laptops. Physical binders were phased out around 2017, Wernick said.

Those materials are essentially inherited to-do lists. They include notes on what’s on the Order Paper in Parliament, what bills they’re now responsible for, what tabling requirements they have, unfinished and pending appointments, court cases and decisions to be aware of, as well as international travel and obligations on their new calendar.

“An early priority will be getting them connected to the secure networks so that classified documents can be sent back and forth to them wherever they are and secure conversations can take place,” he said.

— Reality check: Briefings on personal safety will be prioritized.

“You now enter the realm of being a target,” says Wernick, who wrote “Governing Canada: A Guide to the Tradecraft of Politics."

“Home security systems might have to be ordered and a very thorough briefing on cybersecurity — and you are now the target of hackers and people who want to intercept your phone calls.”

— Another reality check: Flushing the deck with new faces offers a sense of renewed energy to the team. But the optimism and sense of new possibilities doesn’t last forever, Wernick said.

— New game, old center: If you’re a new minister without a team, you’re waiting for PMO to pick your chief of staff, Wernick said. “There was a distant time when ministers got to choose their own chiefs of staff. That’s long gone.”

New ministers will face a steep learning curve, joining a team that includes veterans who’ve been a part of Cabinet for eight years — with everyone sprinting toward an election that will happen within a two-year window.

Wernick said people skills are what ultimately make or break new ministers, not their reputation as a savant on a handful of policy priorities.

“Some of them are good at it. And some of them are not. Some of them take to it immediately,” he said. “Some never do.”

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— Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU will be at Rideau Hall for the swearing-in ceremony of new Cabinet ministers at 10:30 a.m., followed by a media availability at 12:15 p.m.

12:30 p.m. Conservative Leader PIERRE POILIEVRE has a stop in Timmins, Ontario, on his schedule and will hold a press conference.

2 p.m. (12 p.m. MDT) NDP Leader JAGMEET SINGH will hold a media availability at Yellowknife City Hall.

6:30 p.m. Poilievre holds his third “Axe the Tax” rally of the week — this one in Kapuskasing, Ontario.

— Behind closed doors: Singh hosts a housing roundtable and a meet-and-greet in Yellowknife.

RIPPLE EFFECT — Yesterday, Playbook considered how shuffles impact staffers. Today, Compass Rose’s KATHLEEN WALSH shares insight on how front bench switcheroos affect another realm of the bubble: lobbyists and consultants.

“It will not only impact who we are working with around the Cabinet table, but it will shape how we approach government. In a shuffle as big as this one, we read the regional spread, titles and issue positioning and how the shuffle is communicated to better understand what is important to this government, and what they will prioritize moving forward. It helps shape advocacy and positioning. It’s been noted that a large part of this shuffle is about communications — it will impact our communications, too.”

MARISA MASLINK from McMillan Vantage wrote in:

“Shuffles are exciting, but they are also disruptive to ongoing work. Especially if there are changes in ministries where we have ongoing conversations, urgent client matters, or scheduled meeting/tour requests. We need to be ready to adjust things and make changes quickly to help our clients move forward on their priorities.”

— RCMP in Nova Scotia have located the bodies of two children who went missing during last weekend’s massive flooding, CBC News reports.

— The Globe’s PATRICK WHITE reports: Manitoba First Nation to excavate church basement for possible unmarked graves.

— Star business reporter GHADA ALSHARIF reports from the Bank of Canada’s second-quarter survey that it will hold its key interest rate at 5 percent until the end of the year.

— The Narwhal and the Star teamed up on a story that shows Ontario developers have spent nearly C$173 million buying hundreds of acres in the former Greenbelt this summer.

— From our colleagues in Brussels: Sex, lies and stolen sunglasses: The 11 most embarrassing political resignations.

— POLITICO’s ANDREW ZHANG reports on emails that show President JOE BIDEN’s dog, Commander, has bitten several Secret Service agents.

Our latest policy newsletter for Pro subscribers by KYLE DUGGAN: Shuffle leaks cue Trudeau Cabinet reboot.

In other news for Pros:

— The race to head the UN’s climate science body.

— GINA RAIMONDO pulled from stage as climate protestors disrupt fireside chat.

— Global securities regulators endorse green corporate reporting standards.

— Biden administration to tap Coker as next national cyber director.

— House panel digging into underground energy research.

Birthdays: Happy Cabinet Shuffle Birthday to journalist PAUL WELLS. Also celebrating: GARY MAR, CEO of the Canada West Foundation, JANICE NICHOLSON of Bluesky Strategy Group and COLIN MACDONALD of Navigator.

Spotted: Families, Children and Social Development Minister KARINA GOULD has a baby on the way, due January 2024 … MP TODD DOHERTY beaming on his daughter’s wedding day: “I am in awe of how beautiful she was.”

British Columbia Premier DAVID EBY, outing himself as a Swiftie.

Airbus Defence and Space S.A., scoring a C$3.6-billion government contract to replace the Royal Canadian Air Force’s CC-150 Polaris fleet.

Global Affairs Canada, comparing the likeness of its 50-year-old Lester B. Pearson building to The Great Sphinx of Giza and other places and things.

Movers and shakers: BEHZAD BABAKHANI has been appointed Canada’s new consul general in Guangzhou, China … ADLER ARISTILDE is the new ambassador to Zimbabwe, replacing predecessor CHRISTINA BUCHAN … HUGH ADSETT has two new roles: Canada’s new ambassador to the Netherlands and permanent representative to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.

Media mentions: ROY MACGREGOR will have a new book in stores next month: “Paper Trails: From the Backwoods to the Front Page, a Life in Stories."

Send Playbookers tips to [email protected] .

Tuesday’s answer: The bill giving Canada income tax was introduced to the House July 25, 1917.

JENNIFER ROBSON wrote in with the answer and pointed us to the debate at the time, “in all its glory.”

Props to DAN ALBAS, JONATHAN BUCHANAN, MARC LEBLANC, ROBERT MCDOUGALL, ALEX BALLINGALL, DAN MCCARTHY, WALTER ROBINSON, DEAN PETERS, DAVE EPP, DOUG SWEET, GEORGE SCHOENHOFER, JENNIFER ROBSON, STACI AHONEN and ROB LEFORTE.

Think you have a harder trivia question? Send us your best.

Wednesday’s question: Name the three ministers dropped from the Trudeau Cabinet in 2021.

Answers to [email protected]

Playbook wouldn’t happen: Without Luiza Ch. Savage, Sue Allan and Emma Anderson.