Canada's Trudeau unveils domestically-focused cabinet

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau unveiled an inward-looking cabinet Wednesday, with rising star Chrystia Freeland swapping foreign affairs for a new role healing the country's internal divisions.

The former foreign minister has been promoted to deputy leader tasked, alongside new Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, with wooing western provinces alienated by Ottawa's environmental policies.

Trudeau expanded his cabinet to a slightly larger 36 members after the Liberals lost 20 seats on October 21, reducing a once-mighty juggernaut to a minority government.

The laundry list of looming issues is also longer and more complex than when Trudeau took office in 2015 -- including a slowing economy and geographic political divisions.

One particular worry for his chastened Liberals is the emergence of a separatist movement in the western province of Alberta, where the party was shut out at the ballot box.

Climate change emerged as one of the few galvanizing issues in the election, with two-thirds of Canadians voting for parties promising a tougher response.

But oil-rich provinces such as Alberta and Saskatchewan have rejected a federal carbon tax -- one of the few of its scope in the world -- unveiled earlier this year.

"As we move forward on issues that matter across the country like energy and environment and other large issues, we will have to engage in a strong and positive way with different orders of government right across the country," said Trudeau.

"I am very much looking forward to doing that with Chrystia by my side," he said, to help bridge "very different perspectives across the country."