By Liam Casey and Allison Jones

Ontario Premier Doug Ford named a brand new cupboard Wednesday with many acquainted faces to sort out the challenges {that a} commerce conflict with the US will carry, although he did shuffle his housing, training and atmosphere ministers. 

Ford targeted a lot of his speech after he and his new cupboard have been sworn in discussing Canada-U.S. relations and coping with U.S. President Donald Trump, who has imposed and threatened varied rounds of tariffs on his northern neighbour.

The premier pledged to spend money on infrastructure and manufacturing and made a giant push to mine the sources buried underground in northern Ontario.

“We are going to rise to the event as a result of that is the best province within the biggest nation on earth,” Ford stated on the ceremony on the Royal Ontario Museum. 

“And it’s a rustic that has been blessed with considerable sources, unbelievable folks, gifted staff, and a proud historical past. So collectively, allow us to stand robust and agency. Let’s be clear: Canada won’t ever be the 51st state. Canada isn’t on the market.”

A crowd a number of hundred folks robust, together with many household and mates, stood in ovation.

Few faces on Ford’s entrance benches will change, and that’s deliberate, stated Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy, who stays in his portfolio.

“I believe the message of stability and certainty on this atmosphere, that’s one of many issues that we carry to the desk,” he stated after the ceremony. 

Amanda Galbraith, a accomplice on the public affairs agency Oyster Group, stated preserving most of his prime crew in place naturally follows Ford’s messaging throughout the election. 

“I believe the premier went to the Ontario voters projecting a picture of re-electing a authorities and stability within the face of what’s a really threatening and unstable U.S. authorities, and for him to overtake his cupboard presently wouldn’t make any sense,” she stated in an interview.

“I believe what you’ll see is the federal government actually hit the bottom working and that’s in all probability a few of the advantages of preserving ministers in the identical portfolios.”

Paul Calandra is among the many notable adjustments to cupboard as he strikes from housing to grow to be the training minister, taking up from Jill Dunlop, who has moved to emergency preparedness. Todd McCarthy is taking over the position of atmosphere minister, a higher-profile position than his earlier job as minister of public and enterprise service supply.

Sylvia Jones stays deputy premier and well being minister and Vic Fedeli continues as minister of financial growth, job creation and commerce.

Rob Flack, beforehand the agriculture minister, is taking the housing portfolio. Labour Minister David Piccini retains the identical place.

Greg Rickford stays as minister of Indigenous affairs, but additionally takes on the newly created position because the minister chargeable for Ring of Hearth financial and group partnerships.

The long-sought growth of the Ring of Hearth, an enormous space in northwestern Ontario stated to be replete with crucial and uncommon minerals, has grow to be a focus of late for Ford as demand for these supplies grows worldwide.

“We have to make our financial system extra aggressive by chopping crimson tape, rushing up approvals to make Ontario one of the best place on this planet to take a position, create jobs and do enterprise,” Ford stated. 

“We have to develop our huge pure sources. We have to unlock the big financial potential of the Ring of Hearth. We have to construct up homegrown crucial mineral provide chains, together with by constructing out Ontario’s processing capability so we are able to create good paying jobs and make Ontario extra affluent and safer.”

Stephen Lecce, who was beforehand the vitality minister, now turns into minister of vitality and mines. He urged he needs to maneuver aggressively on the latter file.

“President Trump has upended the world order, and we’re going to wish each authorities, each regulator, each company, to maneuver with absolute velocity to get shovels within the floor,” he stated.

Ford has lengthy been enamoured with infrastructure tasks giant and small and now, within the face of tariffs, he needs the remainder of the nation to get on board with constructing.

“We’d like all ranges of presidency to get behind nation-building infrastructure, so we are able to scale back our reliance on the US and construct the highways, pipelines and railroads that may bind our nation collectively and assist companies discover new prospects in new markets,” he stated. 

Ford additionally moved former atmosphere minister Andrea Khanjin to crimson tape discount. Graham McGregor is taking over the position of minister of citizenship and multiculturalism, a publish beforehand held by Michael Ford, the premier’s nephew, who didn’t run once more within the February snap election.

Zee Hamid is the lone new face in cupboard as he turns into the affiliate minister of auto theft and bail reform.

Ford has stored the cupboard the identical dimension. He had elevated the variety of ministers since he was first elected in 2018, and his final cupboard grew to 37 folks in August after he introduced new affiliate ministers on board. 

Most of the distinguished ministers stay of their earlier roles, together with Doug Downey as legal professional normal, Michael Kerzner as solicitor normal, and Caroline Mulroney as President of the Treasury Board and francophone affairs minister. 

Michael Tibollo, who was the affiliate minister of psychological well being and addictions, has been shuffled to grow to be the affiliate legal professional normal, whereas Vijay Thanigasalam takes over his outdated publish.

George Pirie is out as mining minister and is shifting to grow to be minister of northern financial growth and development. 

Former housing minister Steve Clark, who resigned within the wake of the Greenbelt land-grab scandal, stays as authorities home chief, although it’s not a cupboard place.

NDP and Official Opposition Chief Marit Stiles stated it was “not the time for extra of the identical.”

“This cupboard contains the identical minister of transportation who couldn’t open a transit line, the identical minister of well being who downplayed the physician scarcity, and the identical minister of infrastructure who spent weeks dodging primary questions,” she stated in an announcement.

This report by The Canadian Press was first revealed March 19, 2025.

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Final modified: March 19, 2025