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Delta MP named to federal cabinet

Carla Qualtrough has been appointed Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's first cabinet.
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Delta MP Carla Qualtrough has been named to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's first cabinet as Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities.

Delta's new Liberal MP Carla Qualtrough has been named to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's first cabinet.

She was sworn in this morning in Ottawa as the Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities.

Qualtrough is visually impaired and as a Paralympian, won three Paralympic and four World Championship medals. She is on the board of the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport and is vice-chair of the Delta Gymnastics Society.

Qualtrough is one of three MPs from B.C. who are now part of the 31-member federal cabinet: Jody Wilson-Raybould, MP for Vancouver-Granville, was appointed Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada; and Harjit Sajjan, MP for Vancouver-South, was named Minister of Defence.

The cabinet includes 15 women to meet Trudeau's promise of having equal gender representation in politics.

Qualtrough, 43, told The Leader last month she is a longtime Liberal, in the past working for Liberal MPs and in the office of former prime minster Paul Martin.

“I fell in love with the role of an MP and what an effective MP can do – helping people and making laws," the human rights lawyer said. "It appealed to me.”

On Wednesday, B.C. Premier Christy Clark said she was pleased to see British Columbia well represented at the cabinet table.

"On behalf of the government of British Columbia, I want  to congratulate Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his newly appointed  cabinet ministers," Clark said in a release.

"I am looking forward to working with Prime Minister Trudeau and his cabinet as we continue to build a stronger, more prosperous Canada and British Columbia."

Wednesday morning, Conservative Stephen Harper resigned as the country's leader and Trudeau was sworn in at Rideau Hall as Canada's 23rd prime minister.