Three backbenchers get a boost as Wynne shakes up cabinet
Retiring ministers replaced, others reshuffled ahead of June election
Premier Kathleen Wynne is shuffling her cabinet to fill vacancies left by ministers who are not seeking re-election in June, the Star has learned.
With the looming retirement of key ministers Brad Duguid, Deb Matthews and Liz Sandals, Wynne was to elevate three promising backbenchers to her executive council today as part of a larger shuffle.
In a statement, Wynne said she was “thrilled” to shake up her cabinet and add some new blood.
Headed into cabinet as the Liberals gird for a tight election on June 7 are Harinder Malhi (Brampton-Springdale), Nathalie Des Rosiers (Ottawa-Vanier), and Daiene Vernile (Kitchener-Centre).
“The knowledge and skills they bring to these roles will be crucial as we continue our work to create more fairness and opportunity for the people of Ontario,” the premier said.
“In a changing economy, our plan is about making sure everyone has a fair shot at getting ahead,” she said.
“That’s why it is also important to me that this updated cabinet continues to reflect both the diversity and the geography of our province,” Wynne said. Being promoted within cabinet are: Indira Naidoo-Harris (Halton), who becomes education minister as well as continuing as minister for early years and child care;
Steven Del Duca (Vaughan), who transfers from transportation to Duguid’s former post at economic development and growth;
Eleanor McMahon (Burlington), who succeeds Sandals as president of the treasury board after serving as minister of tourism, culture and sport.
Kathryn McGarry (Cambridge), who was minister of natural resources, moves to transportation. To replace Matthews — who was also deputy premier, though that largely ceremonial post will not be filled — Mitzie Hunter graduates from education minister to minister of advanced education and skills development.
Hunter (Scarborough-Guildwood) will be responsible for selling the government’s plan that enables students from low- and middle-income families to attend university or college without paying any tuition fees.
That financial aid program, which is helping more than 210,000 Ontario students this year, is a cornerstone of the Liberals’ re-election platform.
Des Rosiers, the Harvard-educated former general counsel to the Canadian Civil Liberties Association and University of Ottawa law school dean who won a November 2016 byelection, replaces McGarry as minister of natural resources and forestry.
Vernile, a former broadcast journalist from CKCO in Kitchener-Waterloo first elected in 2014, succeeds McMahon as minister of tourism, culture and sport.
Malhi, a former Peel District School Board trustee who was also elected in 2014, becomes minister of the status of women, which had been part of Naidoo-Harris’s duties.
Expressing gratitude toward Matthews, Sandals and Duguid, Wynne said she was “pleased they will all be staying on as MPPs” until the June 7 election.
Community and Social Services Minister Helena Jaczek, who represents Oak Ridges-Markham, as- sumes Matthews’ responsibilities as chair of cabinet.
Liberal insiders note the changes mean cabinet is getting younger, a little more diverse, and closing in on gender balance — there will now be 13 women, including the premier, and 16 men in the executive council.
Public opinion polls suggest Wynne faces a close election against Progressive Conservative Leader Patrick Brown with NDP Leader Andrea Horwath poised to hold the balance of power in a minority legislature.
All three new cabinet ministers represent ridings the Liberals must hold if they are to be re-elected this spring.