Post-Election Cabinet

Maybe I'm getting ahead of myself, but... what do you think the cabinet will look like after the election?

Will Anne McLellan get knocked off and replaced?

Will Stockwell Day be this country's face to the world? (God no...)

Will Jack Layton be Minister of Finance?

Will the one seat the Greens elect be enough to put the Liberals into a majority and Andrew Lewis becomes Environment Minister?

Let's keep in mind that a number of current cabinet ministers could very well be knocked off, most notably:

• Tony Valeri (House Leader)


• Liza Frulla (Heritage and Status of Women)


• Jean Lapierre (Transport and Quebec Lieutenant)


• Pierre Pettigrew (Foreign Affairs)


• Anne McLellan (Deputy Prime Minister and Public Safety)


• Andy Mitchell (Indian Affairs)


• Ethel Blondin-Andrew (Northern Development


• David Emerson (Industry)


• Jacques Saada (La Francophonie and Quebec Economic Development


• Aileen Carroll (International Cooperation)


• Carolyn Bennett (Public Health)


• Tony Ianno (Families and Caregivers)

If at least three cabinet minister don't get knocked off, I will be surprised.

Not to mention, John Efford (Natural Resources) isn't running again.



If Frulla goes, I think a perfect replacement would be Ruby Dhalla - she's young and smart, not to mention photogenic (ie: beautiful), and reflects multiculturalism. Plus, she's a woman, which you've gotta be to be responsible for status of women. And it's kind of a fluffy ministry, so it's a good one for a neophyte to cut their teeth on. Another idea is to divide this one up - Status of Women, and Heritage - and give the former to Dhalla and the latter to Michael Ignatieff, who will also need an insignificant cabinet spot to cut his teeth on, and what better than a Canadian historian for Heritage?

If Emerson goes, the obvious replacement is Belinda Stronach. She ran the largest auto-parts manufacturer in Canada. I think she's qualified for Industry. Plus, she's gotten good lately - much less android-like, and much more relaxed and natural. She's really come a long way in 20 months.

If Lapierre goes (god willing), and quite frankly even if he doesn't go, I think he should be replaced with someone who likes the sound of his own voice a bit less. Stephane Dion is a good one for Quebec Lieutenant. As for Transport... uhm... that's a good one to give to a newbie. I'd say Maurizio Bevilacqua is a good one for Transport.

Pettigrew - obviously Foreign Affairs goes back to Bill Graham, who was clearly not happy about losing it to Pettigrew.

McLellan may be on her last legs here. Deputy PM should go to a Martin loyalist who is aspiring to lead the party. Scott Brison could very well be Paul Martin's John Manley. Plus, Martin's GOTTA reward Brison with SOMETHING after giving him that god-awful Public Works appointment and making him answer sponsorship questions for the past 18 months.

I'm of the opinion that Indian Affairs should be given to an Indian, preferably one who has lived on a reserve. If there's none in caucus, go outside of caucus. Or appoint an aboriginal person to the Senate. Let the parliamentary secretary answer questions in the House.

Northern Development would probably just go to another Northerner. Maybe both ND and IA could go to Nancy Karetak-Lindell? She's Inuit, and she's from the North. Perfect.

International Cooperation is fluffy - does anyone actually know what it is? I say just eliminate it entirely, but if you need to keep it around to use it as patronage, just give it to some loyalist backbencher who wants to be in cabinet.

As for La Francophonie, it really doesn't matter. Someone from Quebec. Anyone, really.

If Carolyn Bennett gets knocked off by Peter Kent, again, I'd say just eliminate the department altogether and merge it with Health, but if you need to keep it around, again, competent but loyalist backbencher who wants a cabinet spot. If she is re-elected, I think she should replace Ujjal Dosanjh as Health Minister; she's a medical doctor, he's a crony. Not hard to see the best choice here. Stick Dosanjh into "Minister Responsible for Making Sure the BC Loss of 2001 Never Happens Again". (ie: exploring PR options)

Yeah, Ianno's probably gone. This is another good one to just use as a reward for some random backbencher.