The Eves ministry was the combined cabinet (formally the Executive Council of Ontario) that governed Ontario from April 15, 2002, to October 22, 2003. It was led by the 23rd premier of Ontario, Ernie Eves. The cabinet was made up of members of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, which commanded a parliamentary majority.

The ministry replaced the Harris ministry following the 2002 PC Party leadership election, occurring after the resignation of Premier Mike Harris. The ministry governed through the final seventeen months of the 37th Parliament of Ontario.

After the PC Party lost the 2003 election, the Eves ministry resigned, and was succeeded by the McGuinty ministry led by Premier Dalton McGuinty.

History The Eves Cabinet is formed

Eves assembled a cabinet of 25 ministers, which was sworn in on April 15, 2002. He included in his cabinet all four of the candidates who had competed with him for the leadership of the PC Party weeks previously: Jim Flaherty (as Minister of Enterprise, Opportunity and Innovation), Tony Clement (as Minister of Health and Long Term Care), Elizabeth Witmer (as Minister of Education and as Deputy Premier), and Chris Stockwell (as Minister of the Environment and Energy and House Leader).

Other high-profile portfolios went to David Young as Attorney General and Brad Clark as Minister of Labour. Future leadership contender Frank Klees (who would compete with Flaherty and Clement to succeed Eves as party leader in 2004) would eventually join the cabinet October 2, 2002 as Minister of tourism and recreation, though he had been unavailable to join Eves's ministry when it first launched.

Of the 25 original cabinet members, 22 had served the previous Harris ministry, including six who served for the entirety of its nearly seven-year duration (Dianne Cunningham, Chris Hodgson, Cam Jackson, Norm Sterling, David Tsubouchi, and Elizabeth Witmer). Sterling had also served nearly four years under Premier Davis (1981–1985), while Premier Eves and Bob Runciman had also a few months of experience under Premier Miller in 1985. Carl DeFaria, Tina Molinari, and Jerry Ouellette were the only cabinet members in the original Eves ministry without any experience.

The Eves ministry was originally organised into 27 portfolios (including the Premiership); Eves (premier and intergovernmental affairs) and David Tsubouchi (chair of Management Board of Cabinet and Minister of Culture) both served simultaneously in two ministerial positions at the outset of the ministry, and would do so for the duration.

There were six instances of ministerial portfolio reorganisation as Eves took over for Harris: Ministry of Economic Development and Trade was reorganized into the "Ministry of Enterprise, Opportunity and Innovation" (assigned to Jim Flaherty); also an "Associate Minister of Enterprise, Opportunity and Innovation" was created as a cabinet level position and assigned to David Turnbull. Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Recreation was divided into the "Ministry of Tourism and Recreation" (assigned to Cam Jackson), and the "Ministry of Culture" (assigned to David Tsubouchi, who also served as Chair of the Cabinet Board of Management). Ministry of Community, Family and Children's Services was reorganised out of the "Ministry of Community and Social Services" and the "Minister Responsible for Children." It was assigned to Brenda Elliott. Ministry of Public Safety and Security was created out of the merger of position of "Solicitor General" and "Ministry of Correctional Services" and assigned to Tim Hudak. Ministry of Municipal Affairs of Housing was assigned to Chris Hodgson; his position was augmented by two "associate ministers," including Tina Molinari assigned to focus on urban affairs, and Helen Johns, assigned to focus on rural affairs. "Associate Minister Responsible for Francophone Affairs" was created as a standalone cabinet-level position and assigned to Jon Baird. Ministry of Energy and the Environment was created from the merger of its two previously independent portfolios and assigned to Chris Stockwell.

Change to the Eves Ministry There were a further two instances of ministerial portfolio reorganisation on August 22, 2002: Ministry of Energy and Ministry of the Environment were created, as the merger of the portfolios at the beginning of the ministry was reversed. "Ministry of Energy" was assigned to John Baird, and the "Ministry of the Environment" remained with Chris Stockwell. "Associate Minister Responsible for Francophone Affairs" was stripped of its standalone cabinet-level status. The incumbent of that position, John Baird, remained in a similar role as "Minister Responsible for Francophone Affairs."

There were also three instances of cabinet membership changes: Cam Jackson stepped down October 2, 2002, resigning in scandal. He was replaced as Minister of Tourism and Recreation by newly appointed cabinet minister Frank Klees. Chris Hodgson abruptly stepped down January 13, 2003. His position at Municipal Affairs and Housing ultimately went to David Young, who was replaced as attorney general by Norm Sterling. In a minor cabinet shuffle that involved three cabinet members, newly appointed Ernie Hardeman filled the vacancy in cabinet left by Hodgson's departure and was appointed "Associate Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing for Rural Affairs." Chris Stockwell resigned from cabinet and from parliament July 17, 2003, to be replaced as Environment Minister by Jim Wilson, who was already in cabinet as Minister of Northern Development and Mines; Stockwell was replaced as House Leader by John Baird. Stockwell's spot in cabinet was assigned to Doug Galt who served as MWP, thus keeping the number of members of cabinet steady at 25, as it had been the whole time.

Summary After the PC Party lost the 2003 election, the Eves ministry resigned, and was succeeded by the McGuinty ministry led by Dalton McGuinty.

At any given time during the Eves ministry, there were 25 cabinet members, while there were 27 ministries. Thus the Eves ministry has the same number of cabinet members as Harris had at the end of his ministry (24), but three more portfolios than Harris had (24); Eves tended to appoint "associate ministers" (naming four while Harris named one) while Harris tended to appointed "ministers without portfolio" (naming six while Eves named only one, and even then only very late in the ministry); Eves had as many as three ministers covering multiple portfolios at a time, while Harris only temporarily resorted to such a measure in one instance.

Only six women served in this ministry, but two women served in high-profile portfolios: Janet Ecker served as minister of finance, and Elizabeth Witmer served as both deputy premier and minister of education. Also serving were Dianne Cunningham, Tina Molinari, Helen Johns, and Brenda Elliott.

With the exception of David Tsubouchi (of Japanese-Canadian heritage), the entire cabinet was white.

All 25 incumbent cabinet members would contest their seats in the 2003 Ontario general election. Eleven would win their contests, including Ernie Eves himself, Norm Sterling, Bob Runciman, Frank Klees, Jim Flaherty, Tim Hudak, and Elizabeth Witmer; Fifteen, however, went down to defeat, including Janet Ecker, Tony Clement, and Dianne Cunningham. The Progressive Conservative Party saw their caucus shrink from 59 to 24, as the Eves ministry went down to defeat.

Trivia

Tony Clement's father John also served in the ministry of Bill Davis in the 1970s.

List of ministers

+Eves Ministry by Leadership PositionPositionMinisterTenureStartEnd Premier of Ontario Ernie Eves April 15, 2002 October 22, 2003 Deputy Premier of Ontario Elizabeth Witmer April 15, 2002 October 22, 2003House Leader Chris Stockwell April 15, 2002 June 17, 2003 John Baird June 17, 2003 September 2, 2003Deputy Government House Leader John Baird April 15, 2002 June 17, 2003 vacant? June 17, 2003 September 2, 2003Chief Whip John Baird April 15, 2002 August 22, 2002 Doug Galt August 22, 2002 September 2, 2003

+Eves Ministry by Portfolio (Alphabetical)PortfolioMinisterTenureStartEnd Minister of Agriculture, and Food Helen Johns April 15, 2002 October 22, 2003Attorney General David Young April 15, 2002 February 25, 2003 Norm Sterling February 25, 2003 October 22, 2003 Minister of Community, Family and Children's Services Brenda Elliott April 15, 2002 October 22, 2003 Minister of Citizenship Carl DeFaria April 15, 2002 October 22, 2003 Minister of Consumer and Business Services Tim Hudak April 15, 2002 October 22, 2003 Minister of Culture David Tsubouchi April 15, 2002 October 22, 2003 Minister of Education Elizabeth Witmer April 15, 2002 October 22, 2003 Minister of Enterprise, Opportunity and Innovation Jim Flaherty April 15, 2002 October 22, 2003 Associate Minister of Enterprise, Opportunity and Innovation David Turnbull April 15, 2002 October 22, 2003 Minister of the Environment and Energy Chris Stockwell April 15, 2002 August 22, 2002 Minister of Energy John Baird August 22, 2002 October 22, 2003Minister of the Environment Chris Stockwell August 22, 2002 June 17, 2003 Jim Wilson June 17, 2003 October 22, 2003 Minister of Finance Janet Ecker April 15, 2002 October 22, 2003 Minister of Health and Long-Term Care Tony Clement April 15, 2002 October 22, 2003 Associate Minister of Health and Long-Term Care Dan Newman April 15, 2002 October 22, 2003 Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs Ernie Eves April 15, 2002 October 22, 2003 Minister of Labour Brad Clark April 15, 2002 October 22, 2003Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Chris Hodgson April 15, 2002 January 13, 2003 Helen Johns (Interim) January 13, 2003 February 25, 2003 David Young February 25, 2003 October 22, 2003Associate Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Responsible for Rural Affairs Brian Coburn April 15, 2002 February 25, 2003 Ernie Hardeman February 25, 2003 October 22, 2003 Associate Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Responsible for Urban Affairs Tina Molinari April 15, 2002 October 22, 2003 Minister of Natural Resources Jerry Ouellette April 15, 2002 October 22, 2003 Minister of Northern Development and Mines Jim Wilson April 15, 2002 October 22, 2003 Minister of Public Safety and Security Bob Runciman April 15, 2002 October 22, 2003Minister Responsible for Native Affairs David Young April 15, 2002 February 25, 2003 Norm Sterling February 25, 2003 October 22, 2003 Minister Responsible for Francophone Affairs John Baird April 15, 2002 October 22, 2003 Minister Responsible for Seniors Carl DeFaria April 15, 2002 October 22, 2003 Minister Responsible for Women's Issues Dianne Cunningham April 15, 2002 October 22, 2003Minister of Tourism and Recreation Cam Jackson April 15, 2002 October 2, 2002 Frank Klees October 2, 2002 February 25, 2003 Brian Coburn February 25, 2003 October 22, 2003Minister of Transportation Norm Sterling April 15, 2002 February 25, 2003 Frank Klees February 25, 2003 October 22, 2003 Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities Dianne Cunningham April 15, 2002 October 22, 2003 Minister Without Portfolio Doug Galt August 22, 2002 October 22, 2003 Chair of the Management Board of Cabinet David Tsubouchi April 15, 2002 October 22, 2003

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