Pallister expected to shuffle cabinet Wednesday By: Jessica Botelho-Urbanski Posted: 7:00 PM CDT Tuesday, Jul. 31, 2018

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Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister will retool his cabinet Wednesday, with several ministers expected to receive new duties, one new face likely to join the inner circle, and the possibility of as many as two demotions to the backbenches.

Sources tell the Free Press that Colleen Mayer, the rookie MLA from St. Vital, appears to be the favourite to snag a seat in cabinet.

She was spotted at the legislature Tuesday. When asked whether she was getting a promotion, she would neither confirm nor deny such an appointment.

“That would be a good rumour,” Mayer said, with a big grin, before entering the clerk’s office.

Pallister’s last cabinet shuffle occurred in August 2017. He brought Gimli MLA Jeff Wharton into the fold as minister of municipal relations, and assigned five ministers new duties.

More than two years into the Tory premier’s mandate, it’s expected Wednesday’s moves will be more significant, said political scientist Paul Thomas.

“He’s past the midway point, so it might be time to reconstruct the team and create the image of the government that you would be looking to offer to voters in the next election,” he said.

Thomas pointed to Health Minister Kelvin Goertzen as one of the most likely candidates to change roles.

“He might like to be relieved of the heavy duties of being health minister. He once said he wanted the more ceremonial position of Speaker.”

Speaker Myrna Driedger can’t be shuffled, however, since she was elected to her post by all MLAs.

While there haven’t been any “sustained scandals” that got ministers in deep trouble, Thomas said the cabinet’s mandate letters don’t leave much room for drama. The ministers were largely tasked with reining in government spending and ensuring departments ran smoothly — save for Goertzen who initiated major health-care reform.

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“Your whole purpose in that (cabinet) role is to sort of avoid any blow-up that will cause harm to the reputation of the premier and the government and its re-election prospects,” Thomas said.

“A lot of considerations go into deciding who belongs where in terms of their talents and what part of the province they represent, what ideological factions within the party they may represent, (and) gender balance,” he said.

“There’s a host of things that go into shuffling a cabinet, and not all of it is announced publicly.”

Government staffers wouldn’t confirm rumoured cabinet changes Tuesday, although one well-placed source said the shuffle would occur Wednesday.

Multiple ministers and backbenchers were spotted in the halls of the Manitoba Legislative Building, leaving and entering meetings Tuesday. The legislature is currently in summer recess.

Mayer won her St. Vital seat by a slim margin in the 2016 election, beating out NDP challenger Jamie Moses by 398 votes. Previously, St. Vital was an NDP stronghold under Nancy Allen, who didn’t seek re-election after holding the seat for 17 years.

Mayer currently serves as government whip and prior to that, was a member of the Treasury Board and assistant deputy speaker.

“That’s one of the southeast Winnipeg swing seats, so they would want (Mayer) to have some profile and carry the party brand… when the general election rolls around next time,” Thomas said.

The next provincial election will take place in October 2020.

— with files from Larry Kusch

jessica.botelho@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @_jessbu