'It's a surprise': David Lametti says he wasn't expecting to be dropped from cabinet

Canada's now-former justice minister David Lametti expressed shock Thursday at being dropped from cabinet in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's massive shuffle of his governing team.

"It's a surprise," Lametti told CBC News in a short text message.

Sources tell CBC News he delivered the same message to other Liberal MPs — that he was surprised by his ouster on Wednesday because he felt he had delivered on his files and there were no problems within his ministry.

Lametti had held the key portfolio for the Trudeau government since 2019. 

In another statement, issued Wednesday, Lametti said he's proud of what his ministry accomplished, citing a ban on so-called conversion therapy, the elimination of some mandatory minimum penalties and a new process for implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

More recently, critics accused his department of being too slow to move on proposed changes to bail reform.

The mayor of Edmonton, former Liberal cabinet minister Amarjeet Sohi, wrote a letter imploring Lametti to take "immediate action" after a father of seven was stabbed to death in a random attack.

Premiers, police chiefs and the Conservative opposition also have called for more to be done to keep repeat violent offenders off the street.

From 2017 to 2019, Lametti served as parliamentary secretary to both the minister of international trade and the minister of innovation, science and economic development. 

He was replaced by rookie minister Arif Virani on Thursday. Lametti remains in the Liberal caucus as a backbencher.

Lametti also posted on his Instagram page early Thursday morning that he is planning to reoffer in the next election.

He represents a riding in the southwest of Montreal.

"Now that the dust has settled and the cabinet shuffle has taken place, there is much speculation about my future as MP for Lasalle-Émard-Verdun," he wrote.

"I want to reassure my constituents that I intend to remain your MP and continue to serve you in the House of Commons."

He went on to say that he meets the eligibility requirements and intends to run in the next election, "whenever it may be."

Lametti was first elected in 2015. Prior to politics, he taught law at McGill University. He is an expert in intellectual property and property law.