Premier Doug Ford gave the team of ministers a vote of confidence that won him a super majority on June 2. Friday, during the swearing in of his cabinet, several key ministries, such as Finance and Education, remained under the leadership of the same ministers.
The Department of Health is the only major portfolio with a new minister, given the departure of Christine Elliott, who did not seek a new mandate after managing the department during the pandemic. Former Solicitor General Sylvia Jones, who represents a riding in the Toronto area, gets the job.
Montrealer Peter Bethlenfalvy retains his position at the Ministry of Finance. His role will be important in the government’s response to the rising cost of living in the province. The Progressive Conservatives campaigned on lowering the cost of living. At Education, Doug Ford once again trusts Stephen Lecce, who has been in office since June 2019.
The Prime Minister’s nephew, Michael Ford, was rewarded for his election in a riding in the city of Toronto. He will become Minister of Citizenship and Multiculturalism. Member of Parliament Neil Lumsden, who entered Queen’s Park with a victory in the Hamilton area, where the Ford government had made inroads thanks to its seduction of the labor movement, also obtained a ministry.
No change to Francophone Affairs: Minister Caroline Mulroney keeps the portfolio. It was she who convinced the Prime Minister to reverse his decision to cancel funding for the Université de l’Ontario français in Toronto. She will have to juggle this ministry with explosive potential and that of Transport. Her mandate is likely to keep her busy: one of the Conservatives’ key ideas during the last campaign was the construction of new highways.
Former Timmins Mayor George Pirie, recruited by the Conservatives to oust Franco-Ontarian NDP MP Gilles Bisson, becomes Minister of Mines, a new ministry. In particular, he will have the mandate to develop the Ring of Fire. The government wants to build a road to this mineral-rich area of northern Ontario. Doug Ford promised to build the road in 2018.
This story is supported by the Local Journalism Initiative, funded by the Government of Canada.