Ontario Premier Doug Ford shuffles cabinet in wake of housing minister’s resignation

Ontario Premier Doug Ford listens to members of the media during a press conference in Ottawa, on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Spencer Colby

Ontario Premier Doug Ford has announced a shuffle of his cabinet in the wake of Steve Clark’s resignation as housing minister.

The shuffle was announced through a press release Monday evening and comes as the government continues to face intense criticism over a Greenbelt land swap that saw a few developers make billions through an improper process overseen by Clark’s deputy. The integrity commissioner said in a report released last week that Clark chose to “stick his head in the sand” while key decisions were being made on the important file.

Paul Calandra will now take over the housing file as the new minister of municipal affairs and housing, moving over from long-term care.

Stan Cho will become the new minister of long-term care, while Prabmeet Sarkaria becomes minister of transportation. Caroline Mulroney, who had faced criticism over the troubled Eglinton Crosstown construction, will become president of the treasury board but will remain minister of Francophone affairs.

Rob Flack becomes associate minister of housing with a specific mandate on attainable housing and modular homes, reporting to the minister of municipal affairs and housing. 

Meanwhile Todd McCarthy becomes associate minister of transportation and Nina Tangri becomes associate minister of small business.

Andrea Khanjin will have an expanded role and will assume additional responsibilities as deputy government house leader reporting to Paul Calandra.

“As we continue to attract billions of dollars in new investments to create better jobs with bigger paycheques, we have the right team in place to get it done,” Ford said in a statement. “We’ll never stop working on behalf of the people of Ontario to build the homes, highways and public transit our growing communities need.”

Earlier Sunday, MPP Steve Clark resigned under fire over two damning reports into the Greenbelt scandal, including one which said he broke ethics rules in his handling of the matter.

The shuffle comes as the Ford government tries to move on from the Greenbelt ordeal. The premier also put out a tweet Monday taking aim at high interest rates.

But NDP Leader Marit Stiles told CP24 Monday that the reports so far “are just the tip of the iceberg” and said people will not be able to trust the Ford government until the Greenbelt decision is reversed.

Both Stiles and Ontario Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner are set to speak about Clark’s resignation and the cabinet shuffle at separate news conferences Tuesday morning.

Schreiner said he will be issuing a “call for action” following Clark’s resignation.