Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his ministers wrap up a two-day cabinet retreat in Sudbury, Ont. today with a community barbecue expected to attract as many as 2,000 people.

The retreat is being held at Laurentian University, where the ministers are bunking together in student dorms.

They've been focusing on the agenda for what promises to be a gruelling fall.

After a prolonged honeymoon over the first 10 months of their mandate, ministers were warned Sunday that they're heading into a tough year in which they'll have to make hard choices that will not please everyone.

The warning came from Sir Michael Barber, the British guru of "deliverology" — the art of ensuring that governments deliver on their promises.

Despite some of the gloomy messages Trudeau and his ministers are hearing, they're scheduled to end the retreat on a cheerful note, flipping burgers at a barbecue hosted by the area's two Liberal MPs.