In a final act before a summer legislative hiatus, Premier Doug Ford shuffled his cabinet and moved a few high profile cabinet ministers into new portfolios.
Ford announced the cabinet shuffle on Thursday afternoon before ending the spring session of the Legislature a week early.
Stephen Lecce and Todd Smith have swapped portfolios, with Lecce leaving the Education Ministry to become Energy Minister and Smith moving from Energy to Education.
“As our province and economy continue to grow, this is the team that is working side-by-side with workers, businesses, labour partners, Indigenous leaders and every member of Team Ontario to rebuild our economy,” Ford said in a statement released to the media. “We’re at an important moment in our province’s history with clear choices. Our team is choosing growth and prosperity. We’re choosing lower taxes and better jobs with bigger paycheques.”
The shuffle comes as speculation persists that Ford will call an early election next spring, well before the scheduled June 2026 vote. It also comes as the RCMP investigates the Greenbelt scandal. Interestingly, Ford is bringing back into his inner circle MPP Steve Clark, who resigned from his position as Housing Minister when the Greenbelt scandal came to light. Clark will be the new government house leader, which will no longer be a cabinet position.
Among the other moves, Elgin-Middlesex-London MPP Rob Flack becomes Minister of Farming, Agriculture and Agribusiness, Huron-Bruce MPP Lisa Thompson becomes Minister of Rural Affairs, and Chatham-Kent-Leamington MPP Trevor Jones becomes Associate Minister of Emergency Preparedness and Response as part of Treasury Board Secretariat.
The cabinet shuffle was met with criticism from the opposition. In a post to her "X" account, NDP leader Marit Stiles suggested the shuffle won't be a panacea.
"It’s been a disastrous year of scandal and failure for Doug Ford," she said. "It’ll take more than musical chairs at the cabinet table to fix this government."
Liberal leader Bonnie Crombie took aim at Ford, suggesting he is "desperately trying to change the channel."