Source : Globe & Mail

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Stephen Harper will unveil a bigger-tent cabinet Thursday that showcases veteran hands in the all-important economic portfolios and draws upon newly elected MPs to address a lack of female representation around the decision-making table.

The cabinet is also expected to include Quebec MP Lawrence Cannon in a new role as Mr. Harper's foreign affairs minister while John Baird, the Environment Minister, will take over as minister responsible for transport. Sources said Industry Minister Jim Prentice will move from Industry to the Environment portfolio, taking Mr. Baird's place as the government grapples with how to battle climate change while assuaging the energy sector.

A large group of newly elected MPs – many of them women – are also expected to get positions, including Leona Aglukkaq of Nunavut, Lisa Raitt of Southern Ontario and Gail Shea of Prince Edward Island.

But the biggest jobs are not expected to change, with Jim Flaherty remaining the Minister of Finance because Ottawa wants to signal it has a steady hand on the economic tiller.

Sources added that Peter MacKay will remain at Defence and retain responsibility for the Atlantic Canadian Opportunities Agency. He will also be responsible for representing Newfoundland and Labrador in cabinet after the Conservatives were wiped out in the province in the recent election.

British Columbia MP Chuck Strahl will continue to shepherd Canada's sensitive Aboriginal Affairs agenda.

A government official said Mr. Harper wants to focus on continuity as the country faces economic turmoil caused by the current financial crisis.

But the Prime Minister is also expected to add a number of secretaries of state to the cabinet to make room for new members, particularly women.

Ms. Shea of Prince Edward Island will take over the Fisheries portfolio, sources said, giving the province its first cabinet minister under the Conservative regime. Ms. Raitt, who represents the GTA riding of Halton, will also get a job and Ms. Aglukkaq will be given responsibility for northern economic development, one of a handful of the new portfolios.

Other women in cabinet are expected to remain. They include Bev Oda, as Minister of International Co-operation, which oversees the Canadian International Development Agency.

Before the recent election, there were only seven women in cabinet, including two secretaries of state, compared with 25 men. As a party, the Conservatives fielded 63 women candidates, of which 23 were elected. That is up from the 14 Tory MPs elected in 2006 from a slate of 38 female Conservative candidates.

Over all, the new Parliament will have just 69 women MPs in the 308-seat House of Commons.

Another new minister in the mix is expected to be Rodney Weston of New Brunswick. Mr. Weston received significant help in his election from former New Brunswick premier Bernard Lord.

The new cabinet will be pressed immediately into service, with the House of Commons set to return on Nov. 18 and a Speech from the Throne set for the day after that. November promises to be a very busy month for the government with a critical economic statement expected some time during the fall session. Other ministers being shuffled include Quebec MP Josée Verner – from the Heritage Department to Intergovernmental Affairs.

Sources said that Jean-Pierre Blackburn, the outspoken Minister of Labour and Minister responsible for Quebec's economic development agency, was packing his boxes last night. A possible destination for him would be the Canada Revenue Agency, which has a tax centre in his riding of Jonquière–Alma.

The government will continue to be top-heavy with Calgary representation, with Mr. Harper and Mr. Prentice as well as Jason Kenney and Diane Ablonczy expected to get roles. Mr. Kenney was being touted by sources as the new Immigration minister.

The new cabinet will also have to be drafted to compensate for Conservative gaps in representation in Canada's major cities.

Mr. Harper will move to boost the influence of Vancouver in his inner circle by giving more responsibilities to James Moore, the current secretary of state for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, who is expected to take over at Heritage.

In Quebec, the pickings are slim. Mr. Cannon, who is the current Quebec lieutenant, will cede that job to Christian Paradis, the current minister for public works.

Mr. Paradis could also take over as minister responsible for Montreal.

Meanwhile, Mr. Baird, who is from Ottawa, will take over a crucial role of infrastructure development at a time when Ontario has been particularly hard hit by the economic financial crisis.

With reports from Bill Curry and Gloria Galloway

© Globe and Mail