Ontario Prime Minister Doug Ford has presented his cabinet to the 43rd Ontario Parliament.
Ford has made some major changes to its front and rear benches, including the appointment of a new Minister of Health, the retention of the current Minister of Education and the addition of a newly elected MPP to the Tourism, Culture file and Sport.
This is who is in and out of the current conservative progressive cabinet:
Sylvia Jones: Minister of Health
The former Ontario Attorney General will now act as Minister of Health and replace Christine Elliott. Elliott held the position for the entire term of Ford’s first term and was at the forefront of Ontario’s sometimes difficult response to COVID-19. He decided not to run in the June election.
Jones will oversee billions in planned spending on hospital infrastructure and will also take on the role of deputy prime minister.
Stephen Lecce: Minister of Education
Stephen Lecce will continue as Ontario’s Minister of Education, a position he has held since June 2019.
Deputy King-Vaughan was in the hot seat during the province-wide teacher strike in 2020 and the closure of schools due to COVID-19 the same year. It was speculated that it could be replaced.
Michael Ford: Minister of Citizenship and Multiculturalism
Newcomer MP Michael Ford will take on the role of Minister of Citizenship and Multiculturalism.
Ford, who is the prime minister’s nephew, has served as councilor for the city of Toronto since 2016.
Neil Lumsden: Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport
The first MPP and former CFL runner will serve as Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport.
The Hall of Fame was chosen for Hamilton East — Stoney Creek on June 2.
The Tourism, Culture and Sport file was in the hands of Lisa MaCleod, who no longer holds a cabinet position.
Peter Bethlenfalvy: Minister of Finance
Peter Bethlenfalvy will continue to serve as head of the Ontario Ministry of Finance.
He was Ford’s third finance minister in his first term, replacing Vic Fedeli and then Rod Phillips, who resigned after going on holiday to the Caribbean during a province-wide blockade.
Bethlenfalvy presented the province’s 2022 budget in April, which was not approved before the election, but became its platform.
Caroline Mulroney: Minister of Transport
Caroline Mulroney will continue as Ontario’s Minister of Transportation.
He previously served as Attorney General of Ontario from 2018 to 2019.
Merrilee Fullerton: Minister of Children, Community and Social Services
Fullerton continues as Minister of Children, Community and Social Services.
The Kanata-Carleton MPP previously monitored the long-term care portfolio during the peak of Ontario’s COVID-19 waves, which disproportionately affected seniors living in assisted living facilities.
Fullerton shuffled the file of social, community and child services in June 2021, less than two months after a commission investigating how and why the spread of coronavirus in nursing homes found the province had no plan to protect residents from long-term care from viruses.
Michael Kerzner: Attorney General
The bioscience and technology entrepreneur was selected at the York Center earlier this month and is in charge of Sylvia Jones ’attorney general’s record.
Graydon Smith: Minister of Natural and Forest Resources
The former mayor of Bracebridge, Ontario, will serve as Minister of Natural and Forest Resources.
Greg Rickford had previously held the post and will continue as Minister of Northern Development and Minister of Indigenous Affairs.
Rickford also oversaw the mining portfolio, which will now be headed by George Pirie, the former mayor of Timmins, as Minister of Mines, with a specific mandate to develop the Ring of Fire.
Other cabinet positions that remain unchanged include Monte McNaughton as Minister of Labor, Steve Clark as Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Vic Fedeli as Minister of Economic Development, David Piccini as Minister of Environment, Todd Smith as to Minister of Energy and Doug Downey as Attorney General.
The full list of Ford’s executive board can be found here.
With files from The Canadian Press