Harper unveils long-awaited cabinet overhaul

By

OTTAWA – In his largest cabinet shuffle since coming to office in 2006, Prime Minister Stephen Harper has made some major changes to his inner circle.

Ahead of a new throne speech this fall, Harper has brought in eight new faces to cabinet — half of them women — and he’s moved around some big names.

In a sign of the times, the prime minister made the announcements on his Twitter account as each new minister walked through the front doors of the governor general’s estate.

Harper says now that he’s picked a new team, it’s an important step forward for the government.

“This is a good mixture of some young and promising talent we have in our caucus and some experienced hands,” he said.

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird and International Trade Minister Ed Fast all held on to their key economic portfolios.

Backbench standouts Shelly Glover, Michelle Rempel and Kellie Leitch all got promotions as Harper named four new women to his cabinet.

Long-serving ministers Peter MacKay and Rob Nicholson swapped jobs. MacKay is now the justice minister and Nicholson becomes defence minister.

Glover, a Manitoba MP, comes aboard as heritage minister, replacing James Moore, who becomes industry minister. Rempel has been named minister of state for western economic diversification.

“These are very high levels of representation for women around the cabinet table. I think that that’s something that’s very important,” Rempel said.

Rona Ambrose, previously minister of public works, has been appointed minister of health, while Pierre Poilievre becomes minister of state for democratic reform. Julian Fantino becomes minister of veteran’s affairs.

Leitch is taking on the labour portfolio, while Kerry-Lynne Findlay becomes minister of national revenue. Alberta MP Kevin Sorenson becomes minister of state for finance.

Greg Rickford becomes minister of state for science and technology; Bernard Valcourt has been re-appointed as aboriginal affairs minister, while John Baird remains in Foreign Affairs.

Manitoba MP Candice Bergen was named minister of state for social development. Alice Wong stayed in her post as minister of state for seniors.

Nunavut MP Leona Aglukkaq moved to minister of environment, CanNor and the Arctic Council. She was previously the health minister.

Ed Fast kept his job as international trade minister. Chris Alexander, the former diplomat, was promoted to citizenship and immigration minister, taking over from the long-serving Jason Kenney. Kenney moved to human resources and skills development.

Christian Paradis was moved to international development and minister for La Francophonie from the industry portfolio.

Lisa Raitt was named the new transport minister.

Harper says he is confident with his choices.

“Many younger members of parliament have earned more responsibility and are ready for more responsibility.”

Some big names who apparently were not invited back into cabinet include Peter Kent, Gordon O’Connor and Steven Fletcher.

All of these moves are an attempt to hit the reset button after a tumultuous spring and to set the Tories up to battle the NDP and Liberals in 2015.

The news came via Harper’s official Twitter account in advance of a 11 a.m. formal announcement about Monday’s cabinet shuffle.

View his tweets below, or click here to view a mobile-friendly version.

Video: Rob Nicholson & Peter MacKay switch roles in Harper’s cabinet

Top Stories

Top Stories

Most Watched Today