Wynne to unveil new cabinet Monday when she’s sworn in as Ontario premier

TORONTO – Ontario premier-designate Kathleen Wynne had to balance everything from political egos to geographical concerns as she built the new cabinet that will be sworn-in Monday afternoon.

Wynne started making calls to caucus members on Sunday afternoon, letting each know which portfolio they will be responsible for when the legislature resumes sitting in just over a week.

Analysts say she had to take care of her Liberal leadership rivals for the sake of party unity, but fortunately for Wynne her two closest competitors _ Sandra Pupatello and Gerard Kennedy _ don’t have seats in the legislature and don’t have to be given plum posts.

Cabinet speculation started circulating the minute Wynne was crowned as Dalton McGuinty’s replacement at the leadership convention Jan. 26, especially on which loyal backbenchers could finally get promoted to the Liberal front rows, and which veterans could lose their portfolios.

Nelson Wiseman, a political science professor at the University of Toronto, expects leadership contender Charles Sousa will likely become finance minister. The former banker dropped out after the second ballot to support Wynne.

“Sousa shrewdly sort of positioned himself for that (portfolio), and he really raised his profile in this leadership race,” said Wiseman.

Wynne has promised to also find cabinet positions for leadership rivals Eric Hoskins and Glen Murray, who both threw their support to her, and Harinder Takhar, even though he supported Pupatello after dropping out of the leadership race.

Wynne already announced that in addition to being premier, she will also be sworn-in as agriculture minister to raise the Liberals’ profile in rural ridings, where they were virtually wiped out in the 2011 election that reduced them to a minority government.

Wiseman called the agriculture appointment a “peculiar” move that would be unlikely to convince any rural ridings to vote Liberal in the next election.

Several sources told The Canadian Press that Deb Matthews, who co-chaired Wynne’s leadership bid, will be staying on as health minister and could also become deputy premier.

“The fact that she threw her support behind Wynne and had the prominent role she had in that certainly reinforced their bonding,” said Wiseman.

“In fact I can see Wynne asking Matthews: ‘What do you want to do?’”

Observers will be watching closely to see who gets the political hot potato portfolios of education and energy, both of which were mired in controversy in the past year as the Liberals were accused of cancelling gas plants to save party seats while at the same time they battled teachers over a legislated wage freeze.

Laurel Broten is widely expected to be moved from education to appease teachers, but is unlikely to be dropped completely from cabinet.

There are also three veteran Liberal cabinet ministers who asked not to be in Wynne’s new executive council.

Energy Minister Chris Bentley and Finance Minister Dwight Duncan both announced they will resign their seats Feb. 14, while Northern Development and Mines Minister Rick Bartolucci said he will not seek re-election and no longer wants to be in cabinet.

The Progressive Conservatives said if Wynne wants to send the right signal that she’s ready to reduce the size and cost of government she will bring in a cabinet of 16 ministers, far fewer than the 22 McGuinty had before the leadership race.

“I think that would be a good start, something that we suggested long ago,” said PC critic Monte McNaughton.

However, some observers expect Wynne may actually increase the size of cabinet Monday as she rewards those who supported her and promotes backbenchers who can help put a new face on the governing party’s front benches.

The New Democrats said they were taking a wait and see approach to the new cabinet, but expected to see a lot of familiar faces.

“Many of the people that are probably going to be in cabinet are going to be some of the same people that have been there before,” said NDP Leader Andrea Horwath.