Ontario cabinet largely unchanged as premier, ministers swear in at ceremony
CBC
Ontario Premier Doug Ford has named a new cabinet with many familiar faces, though he has shuffled his housing and education ministers.
Paul Calandra moves from housing to become the education minister, taking over from Jill Dunlop who moves to emergency preparedness. Former minister of agriculture Rob Flack will be appointed as minister of housing.
Lt.-Gov. Edith Dumont is swearing in the premier and his executive council in a ceremony at the Royal Ontario Museum.
Ford has kept the cabinet the same size, which he had increased since he was first elected in 2018, and his last cabinet grew to 37 people in August after he brought new associate ministers on board.
Sylvia Jones is returning as minister of health and deputy premier. Peter Bethlenfalvy will continue as minister of finance, as will Prabmeet Sarkaria as minister of transportation.
Vic Fedeli and Stephen Lecce will continue in their respective appointments as minister of economic development and minister of energy. Kinga Surma will also return as minister of infrastructure.
Ahead of Wednesday's ceremony, conservative strategists said they were not expecting any dramatic changes to the cabinet and expected many of the premier's key ministers to return to their portfolios.
The premier's PCs won their third successive majority government on Feb. 27 — making Ford the first Ontario premier since 1959 to win three consecutive majorities.
When he triggered the $189-million election in January, Ford asked for the "largest mandate in Ontario's history" to fight against economic threats from U.S. President Donald Trump.
But the PCs are returning to Queen's Park with roughly the same number of seats. With two ridings yet to declare results, the PCs are on track for 80 seats, which is just one more than when the legislature dissolved in January and three fewer than the party picked up in the 2022 election.
The Ontario legislature is set to resume on April 14.
NDP Leader Marit Stiles, who was sworn in as leader of the Official Opposition earlier Wednesday, released a statement congratulating the premier and cabinet, but wrote the appointments were "more of the same."
"This cabinet includes the same Minister of Transportation who couldn't open a transit line, the same Minister of Health who downplayed the doctor shortage, and the same Minister of Infrastructure who spent weeks dodging basic questions," the statement said.
Stiles added that the Official Opposition shadow cabinet will be announced in the coming days.
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