Ford announces new Ontario cabinet with familiar names, few changes

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Premier Doug Ford named a new cabinet Wednesday with many familiar faces, though he has shuffled his housing, education and environment ministers.

Paul Calandra is moving from housing to become the education minister, taking over from Jill Dunlop, who has moved to emergency preparedness. Todd McCarthy is taking on the role of environment minister, a higher-profile role than his previous job as minister of public and business service delivery.

Sylvia Jones remains deputy premier and health minister, while Peter Bethlenfalvy continues as finance minister and Vic Fedeli continues as minister of economic development, job creation and trade.

Rob Flack, previously the agriculture minister, is taking the housing portfolio.

Greg Rickford remains as minister of Indigenous affairs, but also takes on the newly created role as the minister responsible for Ring of Fire economic and community partnerships.

The long-sought development of the Ring of Fire, a massive area in northwestern Ontario said to be replete with critical and rare minerals, has become a focal point of late for Ford as demand for those materials grows worldwide.

“As Ontario faces one of the greatest challenges in our history, workers and families are counting on us to stand up for their jobs and well-being,” Ford said in a statement.

“Our government will double down on our plan to build, train and re-skill workers for better jobs and bigger paycheques, tear down internal trade barriers, retool companies for new customers in new markets, attract more investments and cut through red tape to develop our vast natural resources, including critical minerals in the Ring of Fire. No matter what, we will protect Ontario.”

Ford also moved former environment minister Andrea Khanjin to red tape reduction. Graham McGregor is taking on the role of minister of citizenship and multiculturalism, a post previously held by Michael Ford, the premier’s nephew, who did not run again in the February snap election.

Zee Hamid is the lone new face in cabinet as he becomes the associate minister of auto theft and bail reform.

Lt.-Gov. Edith Dumont was swearing in the premier and his executive council in a ceremony at the Royal Ontario Museum on Wednesday.

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Ford has kept the cabinet the same size. He had increased the number of ministers 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.

Many of the prominent ministers remain in their previous roles, including Doug Downey as attorney general and Michael Kerzner as solicitor general, and Caroline Mulroney as president of the Treasury Board and francophone affairs minister.

Michael Tibollo, who was the associate minister of mental health and addictions, has been shuffled to become the associate attorney general while Vijay Thanigasalam takes over his old post.

George Pirie is out as mining minister and is moving to become minister of northern economic development and growth. Energy Minister Stephen Lecce is adding mining to his responsibilities, while Labour Minister David Piccini retains the same position.

Former housing minister Steve Clark, who resigned in the wake of the Greenbelt land-grab scandal, remains as government house leader, though it’s not a cabinet position.

Ford signalled before Wednesday’s ceremony that he wasn’t going to change his leadership group much.