Jim Carr, minister of international trade diversification, diagnosed with cancer

Jim Carr, the minister of international trade diversification and a Winnipeg MP, has been diagnosed with a type of blood cancer, but says his “spirits are high” and he plans to continue to serve his constituents.

In a statement issued on Friday, the Winnipeg South Centre MP said he had been experiencing flu symptoms in recent weeks and went in for blood work.

On Monday, election day, his doctor told him to go to the hospital.

“On Tuesday, I underwent further tests which led to a diagnosis of multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer,” he wrote.

“This has also affected my kidney function. I have begun chemotherapy and dialysis treatment, which will continue for the near future.”

Carr said his constituency office will remain open.

“I am feeling well, my spirits are high. I spoke to the prime minister and reiterated my commitment to continue serving my constituents and all Canadians,” said Carr in his statement.

High-profile cabinet minister

So far, Carr has served in two high-profile and high-stress cabinet roles in Justin Trudeau’s government.

Carr, one of four Liberal MPs elected in the Prairies in Monday’s election, was made international trade minister in the summer of 2018 as the NAFTA negotiations raged on, and was given the task of diversifying Canada’s trade partners beyond the United States.

In that role, he took over the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). More recently, he has had to wage trade battles with China after it banned canola and meat shipments as part of disintegrating relations following the RCMP’s arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou.

Before taking over the trade portfolio, Carr, an oboist-turned-journalist-turned-CEO of the Business Council of Manitoba, served in the Liberal cabinet as natural resources minister and helped oversee the government’s $4.5-billion purchase of the Trans Mountain pipeline.

He has served in the provincial legislature and first ran federally in 2015.

Carr was re-elected on Monday with 45 per cent of the vote.

In his statement, Carr and his family thanked all the doctors, nurses and staff at the Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg.

“We appreciate everyone’s respect for our privacy at this time,” he wrote.

Multiple myeloma starts in plasma cells — a type of white blood cell that makes antibodies that help the body fight infection, says the Canadian Cancer Society. The society also notes that an estimated 3,300 Canadians will be diagnosied with that form of cancer in 2019.