A housing crisis plus 1.5 million homes to build in the next eight years is a task that might require a Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing in the Government of Ontario cabinet. You might have heard that the previous minister resigned this morning, which is why late Monday afternoon Premier Doug Ford announced a light cabinet shuffle in the wake of Steve Clark’s resignation. And you’re new Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing is…

…Paul Calandra! This is not the first time that Calandra had to step in for a cabinet minister with a problematic history in a critical portfolio. In 2022 when Rod Phillips announced his sudden resignation from government and the position of Long-Term Care Minister, it was Calandra who was tapped to succeed him and he continued in that position until today.

After two tours as a parliamentary assistant, Willowdale MPP Stan Cho has been made the new Minister of Long-Term Care, one of seven new changes to cabinet in addition to Calandra’s appointment as the new Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing today. Also, Caroline Mulroney and Prabmeet Sarkaria switched places with Mulroney becoming President of the Treasury Board and Sarkaria becoming Minister of Transportation.

Three new faces have joined the cabinet. Elgin—Middlesex—London MPP Rob Flack is the Associate Minister of Housing with a specific mandate on attainable housing and modular homes, Durham MPP Todd McCarthy is now the Associate Minister of Transportation, and Barrie-Innisfil MPP Andrea Khanjin will serve as Deputy Government House Leader. Nina Tangri, who hasn’t been in cabinet since the new term started in June 2022, is back as Associate Minister of Small Business.

“As our province’s population and economy grow, it’s never been more important for us to build Ontario,” Ford said in a media release. “As we continue to attract billions of dollars in new investments to create better jobs with bigger paycheques, we have the right team in place to get it done. We’ll never stop working on behalf of the people of Ontario to build the homes, highways and public transit our growing communities need.”

This may not be the end of the news. On Monday evening, Ford announced that he would be holding a press conference Tuesday morning at 10 am at the Legislature.

From the opposition, the news of a cabinet shuffle forced the NDP leader to reach for a familiar old political cliche.

“Mr. Ford can rearrange the deck chairs all he likes but it’s not going to change the fact that Ontarians are fed up with a corrupt government rigging the system to help a select few of their insiders get even richer – at everyone else’s expense,” said Marit Stiles. “With his slapdash team in place, he has even less of a reason not to recall the Legislature and face the music at Queen’s Park.”