The New Cabinet
Before we look at the new Cabinet, the answer to the question on everyone's mind:
No, Maxime Bernier didn't bring a date to the swearing in.
With that out of the way, a look at the new puppets in the Stephen Harper Theater:
There's a Seinfeld episode where George is trying to get fired by the Yankees but, no matter what he does, Steinbrenner refuses to axe him. Suffice to say, someone trying to get fired from a Stephen Harper Cabinet would likely have very much the same experience.
Which explains why Bev Oda is back. And it explains why certain Cabinet Ministers continue to lumber along without really doing anything (fun fact: despite all evidence to the contrary, Rona Ambrose is actually still an MP).
It also means we should pay close attention to this Cabinet because odds are it won't change significantly over the next four years, outside of some tinkering every August. So let's look at some of the more notable moves:
1. Younger Ministers who might have been in line for a promotion, like Jason Kenney or James Moore, stay where they are. Some will interpret this as Harper trying to keep down would-be-successors, but I tend to see it more as Harper actually wanting to keep ministers in portfolios they're handling well.
In the case of Kenney, it seems obvious he's far more valuable to the Conservatives in Immigration than anywhere else, so I never really put much stock in the rumours he'd be moved.
2. Tony Clement goes to Treasury Board to make the "tough cuts". Yes, that's the same Tony Clement who took the art of pork barrelling to new heights during the G20 and found a way to make the Census more expensive.
3. John Baird goes to Foreign Affairs, presumably to add stability to a portfolio that has seen 5 Ministers over the last 5 years. Despite this, we can still expect Baird to answer questions in the House of Commons on behalf of the 37 Ministers Harper does not have confidence in.
4. In total 39 MPs wound up in Cabinet, tying Mulroney for the record of the largest Cabinet ever. Among the new positions created is "Associate Minister of Defence", confirming that Harper wants Julian Fantino in Cabinet, but doesn't want him doing anything more important than being Peter MacKay's wingman.
5. Among the rookies are Tim Uppal, Alice Wong, and Bal Gosal. More diversity in Cabinet is a good thing, even if the motives behind it may be political.
6. Maxime Bernier is back in Cabinet, albeit only as a Minister of State. Sadly, we'll never know if Harper put Max back in because all was forgiven, or because he had no other options in Quebec. It will be interesting to see whether Bernier remains the Minister Of Keeping It Real, or if he starts toting the party line.
7. Joe Oliver seems to be the only new Toronto MP who grabbed a spot. Which is somewhat surprising given the buzz around Chris Alexander, Mark Adler, Kellie Leitch, Eve Adams, and others. Mind you, if you're not going to fire anyone (besides Rob Merrifield and Rob Moore) and you want to ensure a "trim" 39 member Cabinet, you need to draw the line somewhere.
No, Maxime Bernier didn't bring a date to the swearing in.
With that out of the way, a look at the new puppets in the Stephen Harper Theater:
Robert Douglas Nicholson: Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
Marjory LeBreton: Leader of the Government in the Senate
Peter Gordon MacKay: Minister of National Defence
Vic Toews: Minister of Public Safety
Rona Ambrose: Minister of Public Works and Government Services and Minister for Status of Women
Diane Finley: Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development
Beverley J. Oda: Minister of International Cooperation
John Baird: Minister of Foreign Affairs
Tony Clement: President of the Treasury Board and Minister for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario
Stephen Joseph Harper: Prime Minister of Canada
James Michael Flaherty: Minister of Finance
Peter Van Loan: Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
Jason Kenney: Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism
Gerry Ritz: Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board
Christian Paradis: Minister of Industry and Minister of State (Agriculture)
James Moore: Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages
Denis Lebel: Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities and Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec
Leona Aglukkaq: Minister of Health and Minister of the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency
Keith Ashfield: Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and Minister for the Atlantic Gateway
Peter Kent: Minister of the Environment
Lisa Raitt: Minister of Labour
Gail Shea: Minister of National Revenue
John Duncan: Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development
Steven Blaney: Minister of Veterans Affairs
Edward Fast: Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway
Joe Oliver: Minister of Natural Resources
Peter Penashue: Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and President of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada
Julian Fantino: Associate Minister of National Defence
Bernard Valcourt: Minister of State (Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency) (La Francophonie)
Gordon O'Connor: Minister of State and Chief Government Whip
Maxime Bernier: Minister of State (Small Business and Tourism)
Diane Ablonczy: Minister of State of Foreign Affairs (Americas and Consular Affairs)
Lynne Yelich: Minister of State (Western Economic Diversification)
Steven John Fletcher: Minister of State (Transport)
Gary Goodyear: Minister of State (Science and Technology) (Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario)
Ted Menzies: Minister of State (Finance)
Tim Uppal: Minister of State (Democratic Reform)
Alice Wong: Minister of State (Seniors)
Bal Gosal: Minister of State (Sport)
There's a Seinfeld episode where George is trying to get fired by the Yankees but, no matter what he does, Steinbrenner refuses to axe him. Suffice to say, someone trying to get fired from a Stephen Harper Cabinet would likely have very much the same experience.
Which explains why Bev Oda is back. And it explains why certain Cabinet Ministers continue to lumber along without really doing anything (fun fact: despite all evidence to the contrary, Rona Ambrose is actually still an MP).
It also means we should pay close attention to this Cabinet because odds are it won't change significantly over the next four years, outside of some tinkering every August. So let's look at some of the more notable moves:
1. Younger Ministers who might have been in line for a promotion, like Jason Kenney or James Moore, stay where they are. Some will interpret this as Harper trying to keep down would-be-successors, but I tend to see it more as Harper actually wanting to keep ministers in portfolios they're handling well.
In the case of Kenney, it seems obvious he's far more valuable to the Conservatives in Immigration than anywhere else, so I never really put much stock in the rumours he'd be moved.
2. Tony Clement goes to Treasury Board to make the "tough cuts". Yes, that's the same Tony Clement who took the art of pork barrelling to new heights during the G20 and found a way to make the Census more expensive.
3. John Baird goes to Foreign Affairs, presumably to add stability to a portfolio that has seen 5 Ministers over the last 5 years. Despite this, we can still expect Baird to answer questions in the House of Commons on behalf of the 37 Ministers Harper does not have confidence in.
4. In total 39 MPs wound up in Cabinet, tying Mulroney for the record of the largest Cabinet ever. Among the new positions created is "Associate Minister of Defence", confirming that Harper wants Julian Fantino in Cabinet, but doesn't want him doing anything more important than being Peter MacKay's wingman.
5. Among the rookies are Tim Uppal, Alice Wong, and Bal Gosal. More diversity in Cabinet is a good thing, even if the motives behind it may be political.
6. Maxime Bernier is back in Cabinet, albeit only as a Minister of State. Sadly, we'll never know if Harper put Max back in because all was forgiven, or because he had no other options in Quebec. It will be interesting to see whether Bernier remains the Minister Of Keeping It Real, or if he starts toting the party line.
7. Joe Oliver seems to be the only new Toronto MP who grabbed a spot. Which is somewhat surprising given the buzz around Chris Alexander, Mark Adler, Kellie Leitch, Eve Adams, and others. Mind you, if you're not going to fire anyone (besides Rob Merrifield and Rob Moore) and you want to ensure a "trim" 39 member Cabinet, you need to draw the line somewhere.
posted by calgarygrit at
1:00 p.m.
18 Comments:
Might have been simpler to list the MPs who AREN'T in cabinet.
By
Robert Vollman, at 2:16 p.m.
Paul Martin also had a 39 person ministry back in the day.
By
Anonymous, at 2:34 p.m.
"Tony Clement goes to Treasury Board to make the "tough cuts". Yes, that's the same Tony Clement who took the art of pork barrelling to new heights during the G20 and found a way to make the Census more expensive."
This is exactly what went through my mind the moment I heard about this nomination. Could they have put him in any WORSE position short of Prime Minister?
By
Doctacosa, at 3:04 p.m.
Paul Martin also had a 39 person ministry back in the day.
One less -- there were 38 Cabinet Ministers. Here's a little trip down memory lane on how it was seen.
In both cases, you had around a one in four odds of being a cabinet minister.
By
sharonapple88, at 3:11 p.m.
sharon, 39 according to this link:
http://www.parl.gc.ca/Parlinfo/Compilations/FederalGovernment/MinistrySize.aspx
By
Anonymous, at 3:28 p.m.
"He may have shuffled the cards a little bit, but it's the same set of jokers," Harper said.
Thanks for that link sharonapple88! :)
By
Robert Vollman, at 3:28 p.m.
sharon, 39 according to this link:
Or "trente-neuf" for you Quebeckers that aren't NDP MPs.
By
Robert Vollman, at 3:30 p.m.
sharon, 39 according to this link:
Weird. This may be a situation akin to The Third Man. ;) (Actually, a good google search could probably reveal this mystery 39th cabinet guy or gal. :P)
"He may have shuffled the cards a little bit, but it's the same set of jokers," Harper said.
Thanks for that link sharonapple88! :)
As they say, the more things change, the more they stay the same.
By
sharonapple88, at 4:01 p.m.
Not to be nitpicky, but I think it's a bit of a stretch to include Simcoe-Grey (Kelly Leitch) in "Toronto".
That's a bit like Torontonians lumping Manitoba, Alberta and Saskatchewan together into some amorphous "Prairie" region. ;)
By
Anonymous, at 5:13 p.m.
Actually Leitch, who is originally from Alberta, lives and works in Toronto and has for many many years. Once a month she would go up to Simcoe-Grey to do a clinic round and then hightail it back to Tdot. She'd very much count as a Torontonian.
Fun fact: what cabinet minister was a former boyfriend?
By
Anonymous, at 6:34 p.m.
"Tony Clement goes to Treasury Board to make the "tough cuts". Yes, that's the same Tony Clement who took the art of pork barrelling to new heights during the G20 and found a way to make the Census more expensive."
This is exactly what went through my mind the moment I heard about this nomination. Could they have put him in any WORSE position short of Prime Minister?
Transportation. Clement was transport minister in Ontario and was responsible for selling Highway 407.
By
sharonapple88, at 7:05 p.m.
I think the key question here is:
Were you paid for this post?
By
Anonymous, at 10:36 p.m.
Oh gee, I thought that the 407 had been a toll road handled by the private sector since the beginning... That's another feather in his hat, then!
By
Doctacosa, at 10:37 p.m.
Anon 6:54 wrote: [i] Actually Leitch, who is originally from Alberta, lives and works in Toronto and has for many many years. Once a month she would go up to Simcoe-Grey to do a clinic round and then hightail it back to Tdot. She'd very much count as a Torontonian.
Fun fact: what cabinet minister was a former boyfriend?[/i]
Um, John Baird?
By
Anonymous, at 10:41 p.m.
Wasn't Paul Martin's 39th cabinet minister Belinda Stronach?
Minister in charge of Democratic Reform. Or baking bigger economic pies. Or whatever it was.
By
Michael Fox, at 12:48 a.m.
"Fun fact: what cabinet minister was a former boyfriend?[/i]
Um, John Baird?"
SHE's ^not^ his type. ;-)
(Irony in security terms. To post this, the security word was leatente. Close enough to latent for me to laugh)
By
Anonymous, at 9:21 a.m.
Transportation. Clement was transport minister in Ontario and was responsible for selling Highway 407.
Wasn't that Al Palladini? Not that they can't both be responsible I suppose...
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