Holt's first headache: Choosing a cabinet from a large Liberal caucus
CBC
It's a good problem to have.
Liberal Premier-designate Susan Holt has the largest incoming caucus of government MLAs since the 2010 election, offering her many options as she chooses her cabinet ministers.
There's no way she can possibly please everyone.
"It's not easy at all," said Jordan O'Brien, a chief of staff to former Liberal premier Brian Gallant.
"There's regional considerations, linguistic considerations, gender considerations, experience — and that's both political experience and not. … So it's quite a gamut of things you want to balance."
Holt will have to decide quickly: she and her cabinet will be sworn into power Saturday, Nov. 2.
The glut of Liberal MLAs from the Moncton area and southeast New Brunswick is not a surprise, but it's a challenge when choosing a cabinet.
With incumbents, including former ministers and ex-mayors, as well as up-and-comers, it's "the impossible region," because potential choices exceed the number of positions Holt could allocate to a single region.
"The list goes on and on and on and on," O'Brien said. "There's maybe three or four [spots] and more than double that in terms of people available. I don't know how you do that one."
The unexpectedly large contingent of a half-dozen Liberals in Saint John-area ridings, from the Route 7 interchange in the west all the way to Hampton and St. Martins, adds another layer of complexity.
O'Brien said they represent "a lot of talent, high-profile talent," including Aaron Kennedy, who he called a "giant-killer" for defeating Progressive Conservative Leader Blaine Higgs in his Quispamsis riding.
John Herron, elected in Hampton-Fundy-St. Martins, told an Oct. 2 candidates debate that his experience as an MP in Ottawa, and with the New Brunswick Business Council and the Energy and Utilities Board, "position me to play a senior role in a new government."
Holt set out to build a strong team and that's what she has, said former Liberal cabinet minister Donald Arseneault.
"She's not recruiting people like me with no background," said Arseneault, who predicts the former Horizon Health CEO and winner in Saint John Portland-Simonds will end up with the all-important health portfolio.
The holiday season has arrived in Thunder Bay, and that means reduced hours, or closures, for businesses, city offices, and other amenities.
As Toronto’s food scene continues to grow, some in the industry say the pool of professional chefs hasn’t kept up with demand.
Police have charged a truck driver from the Hamilton area in a hit-and-run crash that killed a tow truck operator who had been stopped while helping a driver on the side of Highway 401 outside Woodstock, Ont.
Power has been restored to most of Haines Junction after a problem earlier on Monday at the local generating station.
A 56-year-old man will return to court on Tuesday for a charge of second-degree murder, laid in a case London police have called an act of femicide.
The chairman of the committee leading Newfoundland and Labrador's independent review of the Churchill Falls memorandum of understanding with Quebec is backing the impartiality of his three-man team.
The province has taken a major step toward restarting its onshore natural gas industry.
Allan Legere, serving a life sentence at a maximum security prison in Alberta, has been denied a request for full parole.
Winnipeg’s Granite Curling Club has asked a judge to decide whether the City of Winnipeg can ignore a provincial decision about residential housing slated to rise next to the club.
A Saskatoon woman says she watched her neighbour's police standoff play out in real time on social media.
One person is dead from carbon monoxide poisoning, following an incident Friday at a building in Regina.
A wind storm that caused the cancellation of all daytime ferries between Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland stranded passengers on both sides of the Salish Sea, adding challenges for travelers in an already hectic holiday travel week.
Maritime Electric has officially filed plans with the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission for the rotating power outages it says may be necessary this winter to prevent a provincewide blackout.