Four Ottawa-area MPPs make new cabinet

Ottawa and eastern Ontario will be well-represented in Premier Doug Ford’s cabinet, whose membership includes three veteran MPPs and a Queen’s Park newbie representing ridings in the region.

STEVE CLARK, MINISTER OF MUNICIPAL AFFAIRS AND HOUSING

Steve Clark’s political life has come full circle.

The Leeds-Grenville MPP was elected mayor of Brockville in 1982 at 22 years old, making him the youngest mayor in Canada at the time. He’s also a former president of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, the main lobby group for most local governments.

Now on the other side of the table representing the provincial government, Clark will hear from municipalities on a regular basis about funding and regulations that affect property taxpayers. In the immediate short term, municipalities are interested to see what the province does about cannabis regulations, with federal legalization starting in October.

The heat will be on Clark to maintain the current upload agreement between municipalities and the provincial government and to not unload services to the lower tier, especially in a provincial government hunting for “efficiencies.”

The housing portfolio is particularly critical for municipalities, which are eager to get more funding to build affordable units and reduce homelessness.

MERRILEE FULLERTON, MINISTER OF TRAINING, COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES

A rookie MPP, Fullerton grabs a key role in cabinet after winning her Kanata-Carleton riding.

Fullerton, a family doctor who studied at the University of Ottawa, is now in charge of post-secondary schools and implementing the sparse campaign promises made in this portfolio, such as making math mandatory in teacher colleges.

When it comes to colleges and universities, the ongoing themes are maintaining (and growing) funding and making sure postsecondary institutions are preparing students for the workforce. Students, too, are always calling on the provincial and federal governments to make post-secondary education more affordable.

Fullerton might expect to hear from post-secondary institutions and student groups right away, especially those in her hometown. Algonquin College, for example, made a public plea during the election campaign for provincial politicians to give more autonomy to colleges in creating programs.

LISA MACLEOD, MINISTER OF CHILDREN, COMMUNITY AND SOCIAL SERVICES AND MINISTER RESPONSIBLE FOR WOMEN’S ISSUES

It’s Lisa MacLeod’s turn to hold power.

The Nepean MPP, after spending 12 years on the other side of the legislature tearing into the Liberals, will now be the one answering for the provincial government as the new minister in charge of programs like welfare, child benefits and initiatives to prevent violence against women.

Children and youth services was MacLeod’s first critic portfolio after she was elected in 2006. She went on to hold several critic jobs over her career, including most recently on finance and the treasury board.

MacLeod was always assumed to get a cabinet post because of her fierce loyalty to the party.

She’s the de-facto senior minister for Ottawa, taking over from ousted Ottawa West-Nepean Liberal Bob Chiarelli, giving her influence on all matters related to the provincial government, from the new Ottawa Hospital Civic campus to city hall’s plans for LRT. She was recently the critic in opposition for City of Ottawa issues.

JOHN YAKABUSKI, MINISTER OF TRANSPORTATION

A veteran MPP representing Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke, John Yakabuski takes the reigns of the Transportation Ministry as cities across the province clamour for upper-tier funding for roads, transit and cycling programs.

Yakabuski, the son of the late Renfrew politician Paul Yakabuski, has been an MPP since 2003 serving in several critic roles for the PCs. Most recently, he was critic for labour and training while serving as chief opposition whip.

Yakabuski is one of those veteran PC MPPs who have been waiting for a shot at running government and serving in cabinet.

Now as the transportation minister, Yakabuski will oversee provincial highways, Metrolinx (the operator of Presto) and road safety. Toronto-area transit will likely take up a lot of his time, with Ford suggesting during the election campaign that Queen’s Park should take over building and maintaining subway lines in the provincial capital.

In Ottawa, outside of expanding public transit, a major road issue has been finding a way to divert truck traffic around the downtown core by using a tunnel to link Highway 417 with a bridge to Quebec.