28th Canadian Ministry

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Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Governor General Michaëlle Jean with Twenty-Eighth Ministry after the swearing-in ceremony (February 6, 2006)
Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Governor General Michaëlle Jean with Twenty-Eighth Ministry after the swearing-in ceremony (February 6, 2006)

The Twenty-Eighth Canadian Ministry is the cabinet and secretaries of state of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, which have governed Canada since the beginning of the 39th Parliament of Canada. It was sworn in on February 6, 2006, exactly two weeks after the 2006 election, and nine weeks and six days after the fall of the 38th Canadian Parliament. Smaller than usual, the Conservative Cabinet currently consists of only 27 members, including the Prime Minister himself. On January 4, 2007 five Secretaries of State were added to the Ministry who are not members of the Cabinet itself.

Only 24 of the original members were elected to serve as Conservative MPs in 2006. Senator Marjory LeBreton is the Leader of the Government in the Senate. The other two choices that have raised some controversy are David Emerson, who was elected as a Liberal, but crossed the floor between the election and the swearing-in of the Cabinet to serve as Minister of International Trade, of the Pacific Gateway, and of the Vancouver-Whistler Olympics, and Michael Fortier, a Montreal-area member of the former Progressive Conservatives and co-chair of the Conservatives' 2006 federal campaign, who was not elected as an MP but was named a Senator on February 27, 2006, and is serving as Minister of Public Works and Government Services.

The reason given for the appointments of Emerson and Fortier was that the Conservatives were completely shut out of the 3 most populous cities in Canada - Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver. The Liberals were the only party to win seats in all three, with the Bloc represented in Montreal and the NDP in Toronto and Vancouver. Emerson's riding is Vancouver Kingsway, and Mr. Fortier lives and works in the Montreal-Laval area, and ran for the riding of Laval West for the Tories in 2000. The only major city this leaves out is Toronto, although the Conservatives have indicated that they consider that enough Cabinet Ministers are from the Greater Toronto Area, including Jim Flaherty and Bev Oda, to adequately represent the city in Cabinet.

Another note of interest is that Harper did not name a Deputy Prime Minister, contrary to rumours that Quebec lieutenant Lawrence Cannon or Conservative deputy leader Peter MacKay might be awarded the honorary post. His explanation was that, instead, an acting Prime Minister would be named as required and this assignment could be conferred upon different ministers.

Contents

[edit] List of Ministers

Note: This is in Order of Precedence, which is established by the chronological order of appointment to the Queen's Privy Council for Canada then in order of election or appointment to parliament if for ministers who joined the Privy Council on the same day.

[edit] Members of the Ministry outside of the Cabinet

  • Jay Hill
    • Chief Government Whip and Secretary of State January 4, 2007 - present
  • Jason Kenney
    • Secretary of State for Multiculturalism and Canadian Identity January 4, 2007 - present
  • Gerry Ritz
    • Secretary of State for Small Business and Tourism January 4, 2007 - present
  • Helena Guergis
    • Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and International Trade January 4, 2007 - present
    • Secretary of State for Sport January 4, 2007 - present
  • Christian Paradis
    • Secretary of State for Agriculture January 4, 2007 - present

[edit] Provincial Breakdown

Cabinet Ministers

11
6
5
4
2
1
1
1
1

Conservative Members of Parliament

40
10
18
28
8
12
3
3
3

[edit] See also

[edit] References

[edit] Succession

Preceded by
27th Canadian Ministry
Canadian Ministries
2006-
Succeeded by
In Session
In other languages