Details here. – “Prentice to Industry, Oda to CIDA, Strahl to Indian Affairs, O’Connor to Revenue, Bernier to Foreign Affairs, Verner to Heritage, Ablonczy now Secretary of State for Small Business, Ritz to Agriculture, MacKay to Defence.”
Update: http://www.pm.gc.ca/eng/cabinet.asp
Comments are open for reaction.
Still a lame cabinet. It won’t help Harper inthe polls. MacKay to Defence? Peter the Pussy-whipped and his borrowed dog to lead the military? Themind reals. O’Connor looks as if he’s been kicked in the nuts, and I guess, figuratively he has. Strahl in Indian Affairs? That will be interesting. Bernier’s been given a job very similar to what St.Laurent did for King in WWII. No envies that job. All in all, an admission of failure by Harper. It won’t help in the polls.
Don:
The mind reals?
Do you mean the mind reels?
Seems your negative imagination is dancing overtime.
I’m very happy that Ablonczy is now in Cabinet. The reasons for her preclusion in 2006 were soft. Her abilities are still underutilized. Maybe justice minister one day
I disagree Don. While Harper may have changed some faces around none of these changes indicate a change in policy will follow.
For example, Peter MacKay has been a major spokesperson for the current mission in Afganistan. So replacing O’Connor with MacKay says nothing will change.
A this point, does it really matter who has gone or is about to go where federally – as long as control stays out of the hands of the Liberals/NDP, of course.
The action down the road is bound to be re the provinces, particularly the western provinces, as they increasingly flex their independence and control of strategic areas.
If the Stelmach Cons don’t have the appetite for this, then hopefully some stronger people will emerge provincially.
Neither talijack or dion are happy.
Mary:
Taliban Jack is unhappy? Surely you jest.
Hey, Dion is complaining about the ability of the ministers to communicate. Has he ever paid any attention to his own communication skills.
I hope it is years before we have to analyze a dion cabinet, and the lack of ability on whoever he chooses.
Ablonczy as a junior minister? And a pretty lame one at that. Talk about a token reward.
Josee Verner at SOW…not good.
Limp wristed and none too bright pussy MacKay to Defense? WTF ! Harper threw O’Connor (a good man) overboard to placate the howling jackals of the MSM. “Screw the troops – anything for a little good PR.”
Anyway, I’m glad that Ablonczy finally made the cut, even if only in a minor position.
For an easier-to-read listing
http://www.pm.gc.ca/eng/cabinet.asp
It looks to me like Peter MacKay is being promoted rather swiftly. Harper may be quietly pushing him as a successor, perhaps with the hope that an Atlantic Canada MP as candidate crown prince will make inroads into Atlantic Canada.
As far as I know, MacKay isn’t another Stanfield, as he’s never had a premiership. He’s “Ottawa-groomed,” as it were.
my goodness, that kady (?) O’Malley is a mean-spirited and spiteful little lady. She positively drips with hatred for Harper and his government. Obviously a Liberal.
Above all, I don’t know the people involved and their skills, so, I can’t comment about Harper’s decisions. Other than – I trust him, and think he knows what he’s doing.
I’m only sorry we still have someone for ‘official languages’; and that we still have someone for ‘women’s issues’.
Flaherty still in as Min. Finance. Gutsy, maybe not the greatest choice. See what the Market says tomorrow.
I’d say the CONS are doing good, if no one’s been demoted from cabinet.
What happened to all the MSM fuss about Emerson and Fortier?
Keep doin a good job and the complainers look stoopid.
I don’t think Harper or Dion (and certainly not Layton or Duceppe) have anything to pat themselves on the back over.
Nineteen months after an election and none of the parties or their leaders have impressed Canadians enough to move support past the basic partisan lines. Everyone basically at or slightly below where they were at the end of the last election. Dion can take a smidgen of relief that he’s almost caught up to Harper in SES’s “best leader” numbers and beats him in Ontario, but Ed Broadbent always killed the frontrunners and he never got nowhere.
The cabinet suffle won’t change a thing, although it certainly will help the Cons to move O’Connor and Oda to less public/less important roles. It doesn’t matter anyway because Harper (like Chretien and Mulroney early on in their tenures) won’t slacken the reigns one bit.
If only we could shuffle the bureaucracy with as much vigour.
O’Connor was fightng with the CDS….MacKay had better be wary of this as well. But now he will be able to take credit for Defence cntracts in Atlantic Canada.
Bernier is the one being groomed….my goodeness, Indurty allows you to pick up contacts in business for fundraising, and then off to Foreign Affairs for meeting the world.
favoured son is Bernier, son of the Beace, natural hunting ground for Cons. Tehre was no senior (Finance, Defence, FOreign Affairs or Human Racehorses) that was from Quebec. This changes the face of cabinet significantly.
Ablonczy was being lept out in the past because there were too many Albertans….ease her in.
Change the polls….the only time that happens is if you are bringing in an outsider like Bouchard etc. The crew Harper has is the crew he has
DOnt underestimate the significance of Bernier’s move. The con majority will come out of Quebec, and it will be led by Bernier, Fortier will do the ugly work but Bernier is the face that suburban and rural Quebec will vote for.
Cons will get 35 to 40 seats out of PQ…doesn look like it now but that is how this will all work.
Then we enter danger terriotry again. Quebecers will read into that hope that an English Canadaian from Alberta can sell a deal better than a Quebec based PM….I’m just saying whether it is stated or not this is the expectation that will come with a Con majority.
IMHO this is the core implication of what Harper did and did not do in the suffle. It is all about getting a majority and that will come from expandig presence in Quebec with a minor growth in Ontario and maintaining the base in the West and salvaging their toehold in Atlantic Canada.
Its all about a majority and its largely about Quebec.
“…Keep doin a good job and the complainers look stoopid.”
The complainers don’t just look stupid!
Susan Smith, Liberal strategist, on CBC a few minutes ago:
“He (Harper) doesn’t like women in cabinet”
Does this not cross the line? It’s fine to suggest they are under represented but to say he doesn’t like women in cabinet?
For comparison, here is Paul Martin’s cabinet:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/martin_paul/cabinet2004.html
I count nine (9) female Martin cabinet ministers out of 40, 22.5%
Compared to 7 out of 32, or 21.8%, for Stephen Harper. A difference of 0.7%.
andrew – of course Susan Smith, a Liberal, would say something ad hominem and irrelevant. That’s the Liberal way.
But – why on earth should the gender of an MP or cabinet minister be of interest? Who cares?
stephen – the reason for the focus on Quebec is that we, Canadians, or rather our treacherous Trudeau – set up our gov’t so that Quebec is the lynchpin to gov’t. It did this with our Charter, which is primarily about bilingualism which divided the country by language origin – and further divided the anglophone section by multicultural origin. It did this with official bilingualism, which alienated 80% of the population from gov’t roles – and set up gov’t as an isolate enclave of career civil service bureaucrats trapped in the 1980’s naivete of Ottawa-Montreal. So- until we can get that system changed – our gov’t has to pander to Quebec.
Andrew…that is over the line but the Liberals will repeat the spin.
Essentially accusing someone of sexism….they have tried this before. Saying Harper didnt like women, trying to salvage their base and make a wedge. For all of the criticism of Harper being mean and driving these these wedges, saying the Liberals and NDP support terrorists etc, this is an eqivalent
Just heard Lew Mckenzie on CTV.ca diss MSM on in the CTV interview.Classy guy.
Duffy tries to paint the picture of ‘problems’ between O’Connor and Hillier. Mckenzie sets the record straight, Duffy squirms.
Also Akin states in his know it all fashion that Ablonzy was upset about not being appointed to Cabinet before.Does anyone have an actual quote from Ablonzy in this regard?I have only heard media make a huge deal of it.
Sandra Buckler needs to get to work too.
dawn Black..our Lady of Perpetual Whine,made comment that this ‘new cabinet’has the lowest percentage of women in the history of cabinet..ever.Stats anyone?Also,caught the ever bland dion state in both official languages,that PMSH was President ‘arper,lame ‘American Idol”comment 2-3 times..best line tho was about poor choices for PMSH’s “turd cabinet”.Duff made note,that lots of Maritime Libs were no-shows for Dion’s Hot-Dog Eating with a Fork tour.As for Susan Smith,she is the worst excuse of a woman I have ever seen.
ET,
What you say may be true, but it really is the math that is driving this. Need a certain number of seats and the only way to get the amount needed, given that the Libs will always have a core in Ontario (barring an NDP surge) the Cons can only get the growth they need from PQ. I think they’ll get it.
Be a real shock to certain Ontario Liberals, Maritimers and West Coasters.
But one thing at a time.
What is the western Canadian assessment of the new agriculture minister? Imagine having a farmer in charge of that portfolio. What a novel idea. Does anyone have an opinion on how well Ritz will do?
Ablonczy’s only comments about not being appointed to the first cabinet were that anyone would be disappointed about not making the cut but that she knew there would be other cabinets and she hoped to be included one day. The article is no longer online, but that’s the gist of what she said.
Here are some quotes from Ritz. Form your own opinion. Methinks, the left won’t be sleeping too sound tonight and the Honourable member for Regina Wascana might be ready to admit that change will occur.
_____________________________________________
The Hon. Gerry Ritz, P.C., MP for Battlefords-Lloydminster is pleased that Western barley producers’ voices have been heard and that marketing choice can be a reality this year. “Through this plebiscite, Western farmers have clearly indicated they want the freedom to market their own product like farmers in other regions of the country,” says Ritz. (MARCH 28)
Hon. Gerry Ritz, P.C., M.P., for Battlefords-Lloydminister commended his government’s decision today to table back-to-work legislation to end the crippling Canadian National Railway strike. “I am very pleased. This is terrific news for the country and Battlefords-Lloydminster,” says Ritz. The legislation was introduced today after mediation failed to produce an agreement for the 2,800 CN employees who have been on strike for nearly two weeks, while rail cars backed up and ports filled with waiting ships. “We had to act. Farmers and businesses that rely on the railway are suffering significantly because of this strike,” says Ritz. (FEBRUARY 23)
Battlefords-Lloydminster MP Gerry Ritz questions why some opposition MP’s in Ottawa are getting so hysterical about the Canadian Wheat Board when they have absolutely no concept of how it works, or how reforms might benefit western farmers. “Malpeque MP Wayne Easter might know a lot about PEI potatoes but he’s got a lot to learn about our grain industry and he doesn’t seem willing to listen,” said Ritz who chairs the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-food. “Wayne has a few gullible people convinced that marketing choice will put farmers out of business and as usual he has it completely backwards.” (October 19, 2006)
Gerry Ritz thinks Prairie grain farmers need to move up the value chain to earn a sustainable income from farming. Ritz is a Conservative MP for the Saskatchewan riding of Battlefords-Lloydminster and Chair of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food. “Combinations of factors have resulted in a long-term decline in returns for Canadian grain farmers,” notes Ritz. “Many of those factors we don’t control, and they don’t look to be going away, so I have to ask the question: What options do we have as policymakers to improve the prospects of earning a sustainable income from grain farming? One option is to create more favourable conditions for farmers to participate in the wealth created from the value added to their grain once it leaves the field.” (CHOICE MATTERS)
Earlier this week, Conservative MP Gerry Ritz (Battlefords-Lloydminster) was debating a bill in the House of Commons that would allow farmers to sell their wheat and barley to “an association or firm engaged in the processing of grain if a majority interest in the association or firm is held by the producer or producers based in Canada.” Bill 300 is a private member’s bill and traditionally most of that end up dying on the order paper. (June 26, 2006)
Anyone impressed/surprised with Comical Denis, (Coderrier), and his comments? What a small prig that is.
Dion has a misplaced concern to be worrying about anyone else when it comes to communicating problems.
Nothing to worry about, we’re in good hands with this government. Listening to the miserable opposition and that includes the MSM, is all the proof of that we need.
The Tories have been out of government for such a long time that these shuffles are a great way for PMSH to road test some of his ministers.It is all good, unemployment is down and nobody really cares what the government are doing.The longer the Tories remain in power the more likely we will have a majority next election
Diane Ablonczy’s in!!! I would have liked to see her in the immigration portfolio (her former critic role) but small business is a great role too.
I agree with Reid. Peter Mackay will continue with his strong involvement with the Afgan mission – albeit now even more overtly.
Interesting choices going into a spring ’08 election (my guess).
Stephen and ET are closest to the truth. Bernier and MacKay are given more prominence as regional leaders – i.e. dispensers of pork via industry and defense.
It is about growing in Quebec, retrenching in the West (small sop to ablonzcy and replacing the exiting member from SK) and stemming the losses in Atlantic Canada.
40 seats in Que along with some pick-ups in BC equals a majority. Now the task is to find a way to trigger an election on favourable terms. This is a monumentally difficult thing to engineer and I would give the odds of an election prior to the mandated date at somewhere around 40%.
Assuming that the CP will be in this position for a while, get ready for a slew of milquetoast policy initiatives – more liberal lite, more objectionable regional pork, next to nil tax changes (Unless the LP starts to get more vocal about income splitting. If they do expect the CP to make a pre-emptive strike).
The MSM will begin to feel their oats – even the small victory they have acheived in removing the defense minister has whetted their appetite -and try to drive the CP further to the left. Kate et al (and all of us) need to push back vigourously and keep them on their heels.
The secret agenda will remain locked in the bottom drawer until the majority is secured…
Would you suggest “pushing back vigourously” includes pushing CTV, Fife and Olover over some hot coals for their gross miss-representation and fabrication in regards to O’Connor’s statements and relationship with Hillier?It has been well documented on the BT blog ‘Officially Screwed’
Buckler has to get out more often too.
I think PM Harper’s cabinet is now intact. Now all we must do is wait for the counter punch — the anouncement of a new Liberal Defense critic to replace Coderre — after the second slate of by-elections in Ontario. Post throne speech. Methinks it could get a little bloody from there [in the press] for Mackay.
Susan Smith should use the internet.
here is a link showing the amount of women in cabinet.
http://www2.parl.gc.ca/Parlinfo/Compilations/FederalGovernment/WomenMinistry.aspx
It should be noted that Chretien had more women in cabinet by percentage than any other Prime Minister.
One has to conclude that Dion’s mind doesn’t tread the same path as his mouth in English.
His remarks about Harper’s communication problems was laughable coming from his own mangled and garbled English.
Geesz, what a dork!
The Libs don’t have a hope in hell of Dion ever becoming Canada’s PM.
I’ve never understood the compelling need for cabinet shuffles. I like the road test theory.
I’m sorry for O’Connor, I feel the Red Star and Globe shot one down; he did an alright job.
MacKay was a fart at External.
Somebody mentioned Dion called him ‘President’ Harper.
Coderre, interviewed by Duffy, called him President twice that I heard.
Hey, wasn’t US presidential candidate Barrack Obama chastised just last week for saying he would summon the president of Canada and the president of Mexico to talk about free trade?
Anyway, looks like the Libs strategy is to continue to paint Harper as Bush Lite.
Bush Lite? only 18 more months of that! Then it’ll be girly-man Hillary at the wheel…..
Some combat troops bought there own gear to go to Afghanistan so they could carry ten magazines of ammo. OConnor commented that he couldn’t see why they would need more than the four the standard issue web gear holds. He should have been fired right there for that, since a chair polisher former bureacrat general shouldn’t be opining, wrongly, on what is appropriate for troops in the field and not firing the procurement people who are getting our troops sub-standard equipment.
Mr Dion shows a complete disrespect for the office of Prime Minister. Apparently one that he covets. Why shovel scorn on the job you want? I suggest the longer we talk about issues like this it will become the mainstream news.
I am disappointed Mr O’Connor has moved out of defence. He did a phenominal job, despite what the media thinks.
I think it is a signal by putting Mr MacKay in the Defence Minister post that there will be no change in policy, no apologies for previous necessary funding/purchases for the Canadian Forces, and that there will be some punches back at the MSM if they cannot get stories straight. The only message stronger would be to put Baird in there. Notice how the environment stories have gotten a lot quieter…
I am not happy with sacking O’Connor, but I can understand it.
Gordon O’Connor was an idiot as a Defence Minister and now he’s been replaced by Peter MacKay, who is another idiot.
i’m surprised at the lack of reaction to maxime bernier’s appt to foreign affairs. here’s a cat who has less than 2 years federal experience and was formerly an insurance hack. he aggressively lobbied for mackay’s job and got it… why? because harper is trading good govt for optics.
he’s offered quebeckers everything but a night with the missus and still he languishes in minority territory. in fact, the CPC trails the LPC in quebec according to the latest polls.
further, he’s in complete free fall in ontario. does anyone think his numbers will improve enough anywhere in the country to land a majority?
at least o’connor is toast. i look forward to mackay botching the job in his own special way.
An idiot making an idiot comment!
Doesn’t change my vote.
Thank you lila.(re: Ablonczy’s comments)I knew she handled it graciously at the time.Leave it to the spinners to put words in her mouth.
Proof once again Akin is a master spinner.
Ahhh- the Liberals must be pining away for those days of cabinet stars like:
Judy strippergate Sgro, Belinda I’ll just hire people to do my so very complicated job Stronach, , Joe I see dead people Volpe, Ralph help out your friends Goodale, Scott deny deny deny Brison, Anne if I shriek loud enough maybe I’ll get noticed McLellan, and the Godfather of them all, Alphonso Gagliano.
How can Harper even begin to top that kind of lineup?
I can understand the Liberal angst.
Well said Lorraine.
and just to top off the day . . the cops have laid charges against a Liberal Senator for stealing taxpayer money.
So who’s surprised ??
Maybe the only one is Steffi.