Ontario Premier Doug Ford waves at supporters before speaking to the media in August. The Premier is set to announce changes to his front bench Thursday.Carlos Osorio/Reuters
Ontario Premier Doug Ford will shuffle his cabinet on Thursday, a move his office is positioning as a response to the trade war with U.S. President Donald Trump.
The cabinet shuffle is likely to address vacancies on Mr. Ford’s front bench, including Treasury Board President, which was previously held by Caroline Mulroney. Ms. Mulroney resigned as both a minister and MPP in June, and her cabinet post was temporarily taken up by Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy.
Mr. Ford’s office confirmed the shuffle will happen Thursday, and the Premier is expected to take questions from the media midday.
There are also questions about the fate of some of Mr. Ford’s top cabinet ministers, including Labour Minister David Piccini. Late last year, Ontario’s Integrity Commissioner Cathryn Motherwell launched an investigation into whether Mr. Piccini contravened any laws in his handling of a controversial $2.5-billion skills training fund.
Mr. Ford spoke at Toronto Regional Board of Trade event Thursday morning but did not mention the shuffle and did not take questions from reporters. He reannounced plans to make businesses in more sectors eligible for the government’s existing $1-billion fund for loans meant to assist companies affected by U.S. tariffs.