Chief Strategy Officer Marci Surkes speaks to Politico’s Ottawa Playbook about how PM Justin Trudeau can prioritize Canada-U.S. relations among several #cdnpoli distractions.

CABINET FOCUS — When Canada's premiers arrive in town, they might find themselves across the table from a prime minister squarely focused on their top priority.

JUSTIN TRUDEAU doesn't have to think much about the race to pick his successor or the election campaign he will no longer lead.

MARCI SURKES, the PM's former executive director of Cabinet and policy affairs, tells Playbook that Trudeau can sharpen his priorities — and narrow those of his front bench.

— Chaos around every corner: Less than two weeks out from DONALD TRUMP's inauguration, the Liberals are on the cusp of a leadership contest, welcoming a new mix of shuffled ministers, dealing with staffing uncertainty beneath the surface, and preparing for an imminent general election.

"At least in modern history, there really has not been a series of cascading events that have led a Cabinet or a ministry to this point where it is so clearly going to be distracted from the ordinary work of governing," says Surkes, now chief strategy officer at Compass Rose. "It is extremely difficult to imagine how the next few months will play out."

— Cut the workload: Cabinet could lose several ministers with leadership ambitions. The rest of the table will be left to manage competing domestic and global crises.

A core group of six or seven ministers "should be strongly advised, if not asked, to refrain from participating in the leadership race so as to focus on the business of the people," Surkes suggests.

That inner core could focus on the Canada-U.S. file. "You need one strong cohort doing that, and as many others as you can hold together doing the rest of the work of the Government of Canada," she says.

— Non-negotiables: Trudeau could end up leading a leaner Cabinet. "You have to have a minister of finance in place. You have to ensure that line departments are all appropriately staffed, so that the authorities for decision-making remain intact," Surkes says.

— Nip and tuck: The PM could also reduce Cabinet committee workloads. The current roster includes nine committees, three subcommittees, two working groups and the ad-hoc incident response group.

"[Trudeau] can shrink down the size of the cabinet committees so that there are only one or two," says Surkes. "There can be Canada-U.S. and one other one. You can materially focus the work of Cabinet."