Que. premier completes major cabinet shuffle

Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard has completed a major cabinet shuffle ahead of next year’s provincial election. The premier moved around the majority of his ministers, including those in the transport, immigration and environment departments.

A surprise in yesterday’s shuffle was the appointment of 35-year-old backbencher Andre Fortin to the transport portfolio, which is a challenging file due to the department’s large bureaucracy and past accusations of corruption. Despite the changes, some of the biggest names in the cabinet will remain in their posts such as Finance Minister Carlos Leitao, Health Minister Gaetan Barrette and Education Minister Sebastien Proulx.

After 31/2 years in power since his election in April 2014, Couillard was looking to do whatever he could to counter the opposition’s claims that his Liberals are worn out.