Canada's new federal cabinet was sworn-in on Wednesday with Lawrence MacAulay, a former potato and dairy farmer, chosen as the new agriculture minister.

A long-time MP from PEI, MacAulay has also served in past as minister of labour, which Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) president Ron Bonnett says could be beneficial for agriculture today.

"Labour was identified as a priority issue in the election campaign for agriculture so that helps a bit," Bonnett says, "and the other thing, I think coming from PEI, I think PEI is an island where a lot of the agricultural issues have come together, like rural/urban conflict, use of pesticides, use of GMOs — all of those things are very highly publicized issues in PEI, and he has understanding, I think, of the complexity of the agricultural file."

While MacAulay will be coming in from the East Coast, Bonnett says it will be important for groups like the CFA to continue talking with elected officials to communicate the landscape of agriculture in Western Canada. As far as representation out west, there weren't many cabinet options to choose from, with blue painting most rural areas on the Prairies, leaving only 12 Liberal MPs between Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba — and five of those MPs filled other cabinet positions.

But Canada's new Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Ralph Goodale — an MP from Saskatchewan with a long portfolio, including time as Canada's former ag minister — thinks MacAulay will work quickly to understand western Canadian agriculture.

"I think he'll have an open mind, an open ear, and he'll want to get to know and relate very quickly to western farmers," Goodale says, "I think he would know Atlantic agriculture pretty well, but I think he'll want to plug in as fast as he can to Prairie farmers and producers and be an authentic, valuable representative for their interests."

Other new cabinet members include Chrystia Freeland, a former journalist from Ontario will look after international trade, and Marc Garneau, a former astronaut from Quebec who will be taking over transportation.