- by Hub staff

Premier Doug Ford made changes to his cabinet earlier today, increasing it by a third from 21 to 28.

Locally, Huron-Bruce MPP Lisa Thompson has been demoted from minister of education to Bill Walker's former job as minister of government and consumer services. Walker, MPP for Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound and a former employee of Bruce Power, is now associate minister of energy, one of five new junior portfolios.

Thompson has been replaced in education by rookie MPP Stephen Lecce. Although Ford said in February that he could not think of anyone other than Lisa MacLeod doing a better job on the sensitive autism file, she has been replaced by Todd Smith as minister of children, community and social services.

Finance minister Vic Fidelli was moved to economic development after only one budget, and replaced by former environment minister and former chair of Postmedia Rod Phillips.

Caroline Mulroney has been replaced as attorney general by backbencher Doug Downey.

Christine Elliot remains Deputy Premier and minister of health, and Ford has added a new associate minister of mental health and addictions, and a new ministry of long-term care.

In 2018, Ford said his lean cabinet was in keeping with fiscal promises made during the campaign. It is now only one position smaller than Kathleen Wynne's last cabinet.  Cabinet ministers make a base salary of $165,850 and parliamentary assistants (PAs) make $133,216. Ford suggested at a news conference that the new associate ministers' salaries would be between the two.  Ontario MPPs have not had an increase in their base salaries since their wages were frozen at the height of the 2009 recession.