‘Together we will blaze a new trail,’ says Ontario’s new Premier Doug Ford

TORONTO – Doug Ford declared a new era officially underway in Ontario on Friday as he assumed the reins of the province and unveiled the leaner cabinet tasked with executing his widely touted agenda of fiscal responsibility.

Ford, who cruised to victory earlier this month in an election that reduced the governing Liberals to a party without official status, made good on a promise to trim the size of the provincial cabinet.

Ford has named 20 ministers to cabinet posts, reserving some plum positions for the two women who challenged him for leadership of the party earlier this year. Under former premier Kathleen Wynne, cabinet had as many as 30 members.

At an outdoor ceremony before cheering supporters, Ford outlined a litany of global challenges and perceived past political wrongs before promising change had arrived.

"Together we will blaze a new trail," he said. "Together we will be the envy of the world because as a people, as a province, our potential is limitless."

Ford, long criticized for divisive partisan rhetoric, pledged to govern for all Ontario residents and to work with members of the other three parties in the legislature.

The crowd, gathered in scorching conditions to witness Ford's speech, greeted him enthusiastically as he proclaimed himself a premier for the people.

Cindy Nepo, a supporter from Brampton, Ont., felt his claim rang true.

"I support him because I feel in my heart he's sincere," she said. "All the promises or goals he had set for Ontario. He is for the people."

Others said they came to show that not everyone supports Ford despite his decisive victory. Taryn Eadie, 26, held up a bright pink sign that read "Not my premier" as she stood at the front of the crowd gathered on the front lawn of the legislature.

"A lot of people obviously disagree with my sign but then there are a lot of people who are here and appreciative that I did come," she said. "So I think not everyone is here supporting Doug Ford."

An hour earlier, Ford revealed a cabinet containing seven women and 14 men — one of them a member of a visible minority.

Christine Elliott, a veteran provincial legislator who returned to politics this year to contend for the party leadership, had been widely expected to play a prominent role in the Tory cabinet. Ford delivered on those expectations by naming Elliott, the province's former patient ombudsman, as deputy premier and minister of health and long-term care.

Elliott said her focus would be to deliver on the party's commitments to create long-term care and home care spaces, to create a comprehensive mental health system and work with physicians. She also repeated Ford's call for collaboration.

"We need to work across party lines," she said.

Toronto lawyer Caroline Mulroney, who came third in the leadership contest triggered by the abrupt resignation of Patrick Brown, has been tapped as Ontario's new attorney general and minister responsible for Francophone affairs.

Another prominent post went to Vic Fedeli, who stepped in as interim leader after Brown resigned and pledged to root out the rot from the party ranks. The longtime finance critic will now lead the charge on the file by becoming finance minister.

Fedeli said the government audit Ford promised during the campaign would start "immediately" but declined to give more details on the province's fiscal future.

Former Postmedia executive Rod Phillips, hailed as a star candidate throughout the election campaign, was named environment minister, a file that has received renewed attention in light of Ford's commitment to scrap the province's cap-and-trade system.

Asked why climate change was dropped from the ministry's name, Phillips — who will be leading the effort to dismantle cap and trade — said the issue would remain at the forefront.

"Climate change is everybody's issue, it's not an issue just for the minister of the environment but obviously that's going to be a key focus for me," he said.

Veteran provincial legislators rewarded with cabinet posts included newly minted Minister of Children, Community and Social Services Lisa MacLeod, Transportation Minister John Yakabuski, and Education Minister Lisa Thompson.

Former federal cabinet minister Greg Rickford now takes charge of Ontario's energy portfolio, a lightning-rod topic in the province due to years of rising hydro rates. And Raymond Cho, who once sat with Ford on Toronto City Council, assumes responsibility for seniors and accessibility.

Ford, who will take on responsibility for inter-governmental affairs as well as his duties as premier, was officially sworn in late Friday morning. He then held a second, public ceremony on the steps of the legislature to reaffirm his oath of office and address the public gathered outside the building.

Ford campaigned this spring largely on a promise of fiscal responsibility, though he did not present a fully costed platform. He has not yet said when he will recall the legislature but maintains he wants to start working on his plan for the province quickly and has already set the wheels in motion on several of his proposals.

He has vowed that his first move once the legislature resumes will be to scrap the cap-and-trade system, and has placed the public service under a hiring freeze.