Kathleen Wynne plans major cabinet shuffle in June

Insiders say MPP Glenn Thibeault, a former NDP MP who won a byelection last year, will be headed to executive council. Ontario’s premier will revamp the cabinet by changing the structure of some ministries and bringing in a slew of backbenchers.

Thestar.com
May 25, 2016
By Robert Benzie

Premier Kathleen Wynne is planning a major shuffle of her cabinet shortly after the legislature breaks for the summer on June 9, the Star has learned.

Midway through the mandate, Wynne wants ministers to move from policy-making mode to implementation as the Liberals gear up for what could be a challenging re-election in June 2018.

To that end, sources say the premier will revamp the cabinet by changing the structure of some ministries and bringing in a slew of backbenchers.

Insiders say MPP Glenn Thibeault (Sudbury), a former NDP MP who won a contentious byelection last year, will be headed for Wynne’s executive council.

Thibeault, viewed as a strong communicator, is also an expert in autism, which is one of the thorniest issues now facing the Liberals, though officials stress that doesn’t mean he will be replacing Children and Youth Services Minister Tracy MacCharles.

Other backbenchers being touted for cabinet are Eleanor McMahon (Burlington), a long-time cycling advocate who wrested away what had been one of the safest Progressive Conservative seats in Ontario during the 2014 campaign.

A former press secretary to ex-prime minister Jean Chrétien, McMahon is media-savvy and highly regarded by Wynne for her political prowess.

She secured a key riding that had been a Tory stronghold since midway through the Second World War.

Another suburban MPP likely headed for cabinet is Indira Naidoo-Harris (Halton), who also won a previous Tory bastion in the 2014 election.

Naidoo-Harris, a former broadcast journalist with CBC and Omni, had run and lost to veteran PC MPP Ted Chudleigh in 2011.

Wynne admired her tenacity and campaigned hard for her during the 2014 vote.

The premier is also considering bringing in another broadcaster to cabinet: rookie MPP Daiene Vernile (Kitchener Centre).

Vernile, a former journalist for CKCO, is viewed as adroit at communicating the government’s message in an important swing region of the province where she’s flanked by Tory MPP Michael Harris (Kitchener-Conestoga) and NDP MPP Catherine Fife (Kitchener-Waterloo).

Both Harris and Fife are high-profile members, so the Liberals want to ensure their local representative is given a chance to shine.

Mindful of that, MPP Kathryn McGarry (Cambridge) is another backbencher from the area who is up for cabinet consideration.

A critical-care nurse, McGarry ran in 2007 and 2011, losing to two Tory MPPs.

In Toronto, new MPP Yvan Baker (Etobicoke Centre), who has impressed Wynne and her staff with his abilities inside and outside the legislature, could be headed for his own ministry.
As parliamentary assistant to Deputy Premier Deb Matthews, the powerful Treasury Board president, Baker has worked hard on some of the government’s more thankless cost-cutting tasks.

The other newbie up for cabinet is Marie-France Lalonde (Ottawa-Orleans), who Wynne elevated to Chief Government Whip last September even though she’d only been elected 15 months earlier.

While so many newcomers are being heralded for cabinet posts, sources say it is still too soon to determine who will be dumped as a minister or who will be eased out because they are not seeking re-election in 2018.

Wynne is looking at rejigging some departments, such as carving out a separate Ministry of Infrastructure, which could create new ministerial positions.

That may mean expanding cabinet from the current 26 ministers, including the premier.

Talk of the pending shuffle has reached a fever pitch at Queen’s Park in recent weeks with some ministers quizzing their staff and journalists about what they are hearing on that front.

As of this week, it appears as if Health Minister Eric Hoskins and Finance Minister Charles Sousa are expected to remain at their posts, but many others can and will be moved.