EDITOR’S NOTE: This article originally appeared on The Trillium, a Village Media website devoted exclusively to covering provincial politics at Queen’s Park.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford unveiled his new cabinet Wednesday during a swearing-in ceremony for the new executive council.
The cabinet is largely the same as its pre-election make-up — with a few notable changes.
Paul Calandra, who had served as Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing since the Greenbelt scandal, was shuffled to education.
The former education minister, Jill Dunlop, is now the Minister of Emergency Preparedness and Response.
Rob Flack is the new Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.
Flack is a relative newcomer to politics. He spent much of his career as a farmer and businessman. He was first elected the PC MPP for Elgin—Middlesex—London in the 2022 general election. Flack’s first cabinet position was as associate minister of housing, and last June he was made Agriculture Minister.
Todd McCarthy is the new Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks, replacing Andrea Khanjin, who is now the Minister of Red Tape Reduction.
Zee Hamid, who was first elected to represent Milton in a 2024 byelection, was promoted to cabinet as associate minister of auto theft and bail reform, as part of the Ministry of the Solicitor General.
That post had been held by Graham McGregor, who is now the Minister of Citizenship and Multiculturalism. That post had been held by Michael Ford, the premier’s nephew, who did not run for re-election.
For a full list of the new cabinet, see below.
Ford went into the February election with the largest cabinet in the province’s history — 37 members, including himself. His refreshed cabinet has the same number of ministers.
The premier gave no indication of wanting to trim his cabinet in the lead-up to Wednesday’s swearing-in ceremony, but he did say he might rejig things.
“I have to make sure I put the proper cabinet ministers in based on the mandate we received from the people,” Ford told reporters on Tuesday, echoing his previous comments that he wants the “best players on the ice.”
He also said that while he'll continue directly dealing with the tariffs issue, it'll be a multi-ministerial effort.
The PCs’ recent election campaign focused on U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff threat, pitching Ford as the best person to deal with the White House and any instability stemming from the imposition of the levies.
Here is the full list of the new cabinet:
- Doug Ford, Premier of Ontario and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs
- Sylvia Jones, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health
- Trevor Jones, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness
- Doug Downey, Attorney General
- Michael Parsa, Minister of Children, Community and Social Services
- Graham McGregor, Minister of Citizenship and Multiculturalism
- Nolan Quinn, Minister of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security
- Vic Fedeli, Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade
- Paul Calandra, Minister of Education
- Jill Dunlop, Minister of Emergency Preparedness and Response
- Stephen Lecce, Minister of Energy and Mines
- Todd McCarthy, Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks
- Peter Bethlenfalvy, Minister of Finance
- Greg Rickford, Minister of Indigenous Affairs and First Nations Economic Reconciliation and the Minister Responsible for Ring of Fire Economic and Community Partnerships
- Kinga Surma, Minister of Infrastructure
- David Piccini, Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development
- Natalia Kusendova-Bashta, Minister of Long-Term Care
- Rob Flack, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing
- Mike Harris, Minister of Natural Resources
- George Pirie, Minister of Northern Economic Development and Growth
- Stephen Crawford, Minister of Public and Business Service Delivery and Procurement
- Andrea Khanjin, Minister of Red Tape Reduction
- Lisa Thompson, Minister of Rural Affairs
- Raymond Cho, Minister of Seniors and Accessibility
- Michael Kerzner, Solicitor General
- Neil Lumsden, Minister of Sport
- Stan Cho, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Gaming
- Prabmeet Sarkaria, Minister of Transportation
- Caroline Mulroney, President of the Treasury Board and Minister of Francophone Affairs
- Michael Tibollo, Associate Attorney General, as part of the Ministry of the Attorney General
- Zee Hamid, Associate Minister of Auto Theft and Bail Reform, as part of the Ministry of the Solicitor General
- Sam Oosterhoff, Associate Minister of Energy-Intensive Industries, as part of the Ministry of Energy and Mines
- Kevin Holland, Associate Minister of Forestry and Forest Products, as part of the Ministry of Natural Resources
- Graydon Smith, Associate Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, as part of the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing
- Vijay Thanigasalam, Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, as part of the Ministry of Health
- Nina Tangri, Associate Minister of Small Business, as part of the Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade
- Charmaine Williams, Associate Minister of Women’s Social and Economic Opportunity, as part of the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services