Jim Prentice’s new cabinet unveiled

After Premier Jim Prentice was sworn-in in a ceremony at Government House early Monday afternoon, he also unveiled a new, smaller cabinet.

Prentice himself not only took on the position of premier, he also took the portfolios of International and Intergovernmental Relations and Aboriginal Relations.

The new premier has not been elected to a seat in the legislature, along with two other cabinet members, former Edmonton mayor Stephen Mandel and Gordon Dirks.

Mandel was named to the Ministry of Health, while Dirks has been given the ministry of Education.

The province said Prentice, and the members of cabinet who have not been elected will seek seats in by-elections.

The entire cabinet is as follows:

The new cabinet leaves out a number of senior ministers, including Doug Horner, who had held the Ministry of Finance portfolio, Fred Horne (former Health Minister), Doug Griffiths and Thomas Lukaszuk.

The new cabinet is significantly smaller, and critics say it appears to be much weaker.

NDP Leader Brian Mason suggests many experienced MLAs were passed over, in an effort to distance the new cabinet from the Redford era.

“While Mr. Prentice has tried to give a fresh coat of paint to the Tory party, it’s pretty clear he’s accessing the same very shallow talent pool,” Mason said.

Another critic, Wildrose Leader Danielle Smith, called into question the appointment of two unelected individuals to two major positions, Health and Education.

“We’ve got more than half of the budget in the hands of individuals who have no accountability to the legislature and no constituency office that you can call if you want to complain,” Smith said.

However, Prentice called the two ‘new blood’.

“I reached out specifically to these two people that are very well respected,” Prentice said.

As for the by-elections, officials said an announcement will be made shortly, the election is expected sometime in the fall, and a new session is expected after that.

With files from Serena Mah