SCOOP: Deputy Ministers' shuffle
Ford walks the line. Plus: A very special birthday.
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ABOVE THE FOLD
For all his tough talk about hitting back at DONALD TRUMP’s tariffs, DOUG FORD is letting Ottawa take the lead and backing MARK CARNEY’s “measured” response. But first: I got my hands on another internal memo laying out the latest Deputy Minister moves.
Hot off the presses! — MOVERS AND SHAKERS — As Cabinet goes, so goes the Deputy Ministers. Yesterday, I told you about some high-profile DMs who are getting out of dodge. Today, I’ve got the incoming bureaucrats.
Here are the folks getting shuffled on the civil service side, according to a Wednesday memo from Cabinet Secretary MICHELLE DiEMANUELE:
— RAJ DHIR becomes interim Deputy Minister of Indigenous Affairs and First Nations Economic Reconciliation on May 1. Dhir is currently an Assistant Deputy Minister on the file.
— ERIN HANNAH will go from an ADM to Deputy Solicitor General on Correctional Services.
— Another ADM, SAMANTHA POISSON, takes over as the DM for Public and Business Service Delivery and Procurement on April 14.
Also on the move: SARAH HARRISON will be DM for Environment, Conservation and Parks…SUSANNA LAAKSONEN-CRAIG is sticking around the newly-expanded Energy and Mines Ministry…JONATHAN LEBI goes from Environment to Labour…DREW VANDERDUIM tacks on Northern Economic Development and Growth to his Natural Resources portfolio…PETER KAFTARIAN, an ADM at Health, becomes interim DM for Long-Term Care as well as Seniors and Accessibility (that’s until MELISSA THOMSON returns from personal leave).
As for the new fully-fledged Ministry of Emergency Preparedness and Response, DiEmanuele says the hunt for a new DM to replace Harrison starts “in the coming weeks.” Full DM roster.
HAPPENING TODAY
DOUG FORD’S FRIDAY — 1:30 p.m.: The Premier is in Orillia and Oro-Medonte to inspect damages from the big ice storm and glad-hand with frontline volunteers and workers. Also on hand: Emergency Preparedness and Response Minister JILL DUNLOP, Energy and Mines Minister STEPHEN LECCE and Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister ROB FLACK.
“It’s heartbreaking,” Ford said of the fact that hundreds of thousands of homes were still without power. “We’re working full out again, we have the teams out there from emergency management, the Ontario Corps, warming centres, foods brought in.”
WEEKEND WARRIORS — The Ontario Liberals are linking up with their federal cousins for an “Elbows Up”-themed lunch at the Wall Street United Church in Brockville. Invite. (Recall: BONNIE CROMBIE and MARK CARNEY have history. Crombie endorsed him for leader — though he didn’t exactly return the favour during the provincial campaign. The pair also co-hosted a provincial fundraiser last spring (scooped here).
Over in NDP world: It’s another round of elections to decide the rest of the party’s youth wing executive.
CLIPPINGS
— NO MORE MR. NICE CARNEY: Canada is straddling a fine line between retaliation and reconciliation when it comes to DONALD TRUMP’s trade war. DOUG FORD and most of his fellow premiers are “standing behind Prime Minister MARK CARNEY’s move to match U.S.-imposed auto tariffs with corresponding levies on American cars, while pushing for accelerated talks on a new trade deal.” Even Alberta’s DANIELLE SMITH said the first ministers are on the same page. Via the Globe and Mail.
Asked if he’s taking a backseat so Carney can take his turn playing Captain Canada, Ford said: “We’re all working together.”
But even Ford seemed caught off guard by how quick the auto industry layoffs came. Nearly 4,000 workers are already facing layoffs at Stellantis’s Windsor assembly plant, and they probably won’t be the only ones. Ford said he thought that would’ve taken “about a week” but “obviously it’s right down to days now on the supply chain.”
— TORY CIVIL WAR: Ford also addressed CAROLINE MULRONEY endorsing PIERRE POILIEVRE for PM, despite the Premier’s insistence that his MPPs will be too busy to help their federal cousins on the campaign trail. Ford said Mulroney had asked for his blessing.
“It’s really up to the MPPs,” Ford told reporters. “Caroline called me — I think the world of Caroline by the way, she does an incredible job as President of the Treasury — and [she] asked me. That’s up to Caroline. And good for her and everyone else — but we need to focus on our job.”
Ford wouldn’t bite when asked about his campaign manager KORY TENEYCKE’s smack-talk about the Poilievre campaign.
Speaking of the Poilievre campaign…WHAT TORIES ARE READING: “JENNI BYRNE’s big gamble.” Maclean’s profiles the “ruthless tactician” behind not only the federal Conservative captain’s bid, but also Ford’s rise to provincial power.
— CABINET’S ROUGH HAZING: TODD McCARTHY, “Ontario’s newly appointed minister of the environment, conservation and parks is facing a wave of skepticism from environmental advocates and political opponents — not just for his lack of climate policy experience, but also for his controversial claim about Greenbelt development.” The National Observer on Fake News-gate.
— BIG CASH ON CAMPUS: “The past year battered Ontario’s public colleges as falling revenue from international students and a continued freeze on tuition forced many to make major cuts to staff and programming…But while the axe fell at many of the province’s 24 publicly-funded colleges, executive pay increased.” Global crunches the numbers.
SPOTTED:
Finance Minister PETER BETHLENFALVY and Treasury Board Prez CAROLINE MULRONEY lunching in the basement cafeteria (A pre-budget huddle, perhaps?)…Also hanging out at the Leg: JANE PHILPOTT.
LOBBY LIST
The barrage of post-cabinet shuffle registrations continues, as follows…
Vince Amodeo, Global Public Affairs: Amazon Web Services
Trisha Rinneard, Wellington Advocacy: McMaster Divinity College
Ralph Palumbo, The Hillcrest Consulting Group: Registered Massage Therapists Association Ontario
Bart Maves, Sterlingbridge Marketing and Communications: E.S. Fox Limited
Mustapha Khamissa, Rubicon Strategy: Doornekamp Construction Ltd.
Alia Mufti, McMillan Vantage: AbbVie Corporation, Vector Institute, LGI Healthcare Solutions
Frank Klees, Klees & Associates: Pures College of Technology, York Major Holdings Inc.
Amanda DeYoung, Sussex Strategy Group: Westinghouse Electric Company Canada LLC, TransAlta
Davin Shinedling, Jenni Byrne + Associates: Gartner Inc.
Steve Coupland, SGC Research: X-energy Canada Inc, Hydro One Networks Inc
Matthew Segal, StrategyCorp: Ontario Big City Mayors
Tori Hudson, Brian Teefy and Juliette Castillo, StrategyCorp: Northern Ontario Large Urban Mayors
Alex Armanious, StrategyCorp: Strongest Families Institute
Richard Ositashvili, StrategyCorp: Mistral Development Inc.
Delaney Groves, Fraser Macdonald and Richard Ositashvili, StrategyCorp: Institute for Quantum Computing
Sara Abdella, Richard Ositashvili, Fraser Macdonald and Aidan Grove-White, StrategyCorp: BV Realty Partners LP
Jessica Trepanier and John Penner, StrategyCorp: Public Energy
🥳 HAPPY EXTRA SPECIAL BIRTHDAY: The Legislature turns 132 today after opening its doors for the first time in 1893. Opening Day wasn’t without its hiccups — get the fun facts here…ON SATURDAY: Pollara pollster and Grit strategist DON GUY.
🍽️ LUNCH SPECIAL: Chicken and mushroom pot pie with garden salad.
⏳ COUNTDOWN: T-minus 10 days until the House reconvenes…11 days until the Throne Speech…24 days until federal E-Day.