A summer cabinet shuffle to happen Monday at 11 a.m. is promising to be the largest restructuring in Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s seven years in power.
The ministerial changes, to be announced at Rideau Hall, are expected to bring new and younger faces into significant portfolios. The shuffle will involve many women, and shift some of the Conservative Party’s rising stars into prominent roles.
Keith Beardsley, Harper’s former deputy chief of staff, said the new cabinet moves will reflect Harper’s efforts to inject some new life into the front benches and steer the party into the 2015 election.
“We may see some younger members coming in to rejuvenate, get that generational change started,” Beardsley told CTV News.
However, the shuffle is not expected to involve two key positions: It is believed Jim Flaherty will remain Finance Minister, while John Baird will continue to helm the Foreign Affairs file.
Nova Scotia MP Peter MacKay however, is likely to shift out of the Defence portfolio, possibly into the Justice or Public Safety files.
Backbenchers expected to get the nod include former ambassador Christopher Alexander, New Brunswick MP Rob Moore, rookie Calgary MP Michelle Rempel, physician Kellie Leitch and Candice Bergen, a popular figure in the party for helping to kill the gun registry.
Ontario MP Pierre Poilievre is likely to snag a junior cabinet job, as is Saskatchewan MP Tom Lukiwski and Ontario’s Greg Rickford.
Five veteran ministers have already departed ahead of the shuffle, and another four could be dumped, including Environment Minister Peter Kent, Chief Government Whip Gordon O’Connor and possibly Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz.
In line for a promotion are Heritage Minister James Moore, Immigration Minister Jason Kenney, Labour Minister Lisa Raitt, Western Development Minister Lynne Yelich, Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver and Small Business Minister Maxim Bernier.
Harper’s shakeup follows a spring House session embroiled in Senate spending scandals and a poll that indicates Canadians are beginning to tire of his government.
The shuffle comes ahead of a busy fall schedule for the governing Conservatives. A throne speech is scheduled in autumn, and a Tory policy convention is to take place at the end of October.
In early May, Harper’s government reached the halfway mark of its current term.
With a report from CTV Ottawa Bureau Chief Robert Fife
