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Trudeau will bid adieu to two veteran politicians in his cabinet. John McCallum, who has represented a Markham, Ont. riding since 2000, will depart politics for diplomacy. Trudeau named McCallum, 66, as Canada’s next ambassador to China.

Canada normally appoints a career diplomat to Beijing. In naming a political lieutenant to the post, Trudeau is sending an unequivocal message to Beijing of his desire for strengthened relations, particularly on trade and immigration issues.

McCallum had been Trudeau’s immigration minister and distinguished himself on that file by executing, albeit a bit tardily, on Trudeau’s campaign promise to bring thousands of Syrian refugees out of harms’s way and into Canada.

Generally speaking, only the top diplomatic postings to Washington, London, and Paris have been reserved for political appointees. Now, add Beijing, a message that will not be lost on the Chinese politburo.

Stephane Dion, a former Liberal leader who had been Trudeau’s foreign affairs minister, will also depart from politics though his new role is unclear. Trudeau, at a House of Commons press conference after Tuesday’s shuffle, said he has asked Dion to take on a “senior role” and hinted that it will involve some sort of diplomatic role.

Stepping in to fill Dion’s role will be Toronto Centre MP Chrystia Freeland. Freeland, 48, who once lived in both Moscow and New York during a long career as a journalist, will be the key minister to deal with the Trump administration when it takes office later this month.