Blog: Off to the shuffle

OTTAWA – It’s the day the politicos have been awaiting with bated breath – shuffle day.

Conservative MPs are expected to begin trickling into Rideau Hall around 10 a.m. ET, perhaps providing the first hint at what Prime Minister Stephen Harper has planned for his cabinet.

Until now, all the chatter has mostly been speculation.

There is, however, a bit we know for certain:

This is slated to be a “substantial shuffle” with “significant changes,” which would be a step away from the relatively minor tweaks we’ve seen in Harper’s past few shuffles.

Canadians can expect to see some fresher, younger faces than those with which they’ve become accustomed.

We can also expect to see new women. On Monday morning, Harper took to Twitter to announce he’d be bringing four new women to cabinet.

Overall, there will be eight new faces in cabinet, according to the prime minister’s official twitter account.

Conservative sources have assured us that cabinet will be in experienced and capable hands, and that the party’s focus will remain on, yes, the economy.

What we also know are the portfolios recently left without a minister and those whose ministers have indicated they don’t intend to stick around once this Parliament wraps in 2015.

– Fisheries Minister Keith Ashfield was recently diagnosed with cancer and has requested to be removed from cabinet, though he has indicated his intention to run in 2015.

– Public Safety Minister Vic Toews tendered his resignation from politics one week before the shuffle, officially stepping down one day after issuing the statement.

– Minister of State for Finance Ted Menzies says he will not run in 2015, and has asked to be removed from cabinet until then.

– Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Diane Ablonczy also announced she be leaving the Hill once the next election campaign rolls around.

– The intergovernmental affairs office has been without a minister since Peter Penashue resigned under a cloud of controversy and subsequently lost his seat in a byelection.

– Sen. Marjory LeBreton announced her resignation as government leader in the Senate. The next leader, however, will not be in cabinet, making the entire cabinet elected.

– Environment minister Peter Kent recently posted a message to Facebook in which he declared he would be OK with being shuffled out of cabinet and that if that happened, he’d happily continue to serve his constituents.

Stay tuned for more details as they trickle out this morning.