Ontario Premier Doug Ford, cabinet ministers sworn in at ceremony on Wednesday | CBC News
Ontario Premier Doug Ford has named a new cabinet with many familiar faces, though he has shuffled his housing and education ministers.
Paul Calandra moves from housing to become the education minister, taking over from Jill Dunlop who moves to emergency preparedness.
Lt.-Gov. Edith Dumont is swearing in the premier and his executive council in a ceremony at the Royal Ontario Museum.
Ford has kept the cabinet the same size, which he had increased 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.
Sylvia Jones is returning as minister of health and deputy premier. Peter Bethlenfalvy will continue as minister of finance, as will Prabmeet Sarkaria as minister of transportation.
Vic Fedeli and Stephen Lecce will continue in their respective appointments as minister of economic development and minister of energy.
Ahead of Wednesday’s ceremony, conservative strategists said they were not expecting any dramatic changes to the cabinet and expected many of the premier’s key ministers to return to their portfolios.
The premier’s PCs won their third successive majority government on Feb. 27 — making Ford the first Ontario premier since 1959 to win three consecutive majorities.
Ontario’s MPPs could receive a pay bump for the first time in more than 15 years. As CBC’s Lorenda Reddekopp reports, both federal MPs and Toronto city councillors currently earn more.
When he triggered the $189-million election in January, Ford asked for the “largest mandate in Ontario’s history” to fight against economic threats from U.S. President Donald Trump.
But the PCs are returning to Queen’s Park with roughly the same number of seats. With two ridings yet to declare results, the PCs are on track for 80 seats, which is just one more than when the legislature dissolved in January and three fewer than the party picked up in the 2022 election.
The Ontario legislature is set to resume on April 14.
Speaking before the ceremony, federal Transport Minister Chrystia Freeland said she had a coffee with Ford at his house on Tuesday.
“We talked about interprovincial trade. For Prime Minister Carney, that is a huge priority,” she said.
“I never thought I would say this phrase, but I think interprovincial trade has become sexy in Canada right now.”
