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Holt leans on Saint John, Moncton-area MLAs in her N.B. cabinet picks

Premier-designate Susan Holt has unveiled her list of cabinet ministers one day before they are to be sworn in to form a new Liberal government in New Brunswick.

Premier-designate unveils list of 19 ministers on eve of her Liberal government’s swearing-in

Jacques Poitras · CBC News ·
A smiling woman with a group of people behind her.
Susan Holt, pictured with her new Liberal caucus at their first gathering last week. (Ed Hunter/CBC)

Premier-designate Susan Holt has unveiled her list of cabinet ministers one day before they are to be sworn in to form a new Liberal government.

Holt has tapped two-term Bathurst MLA René Legacy for a major role, naming him deputy premier, minister of finance and the treasury board, and minister of energy, according to a statement released Friday morning.

WATCH | Which Liberal MLAs landed which jobs in cabinet: 

Holt unveils new Liberal cabinet ministers

26 days ago
Duration 2:35
Premier-designate Susan Holt leaned on the greater Saint John and Moncton areas when she chose the next New Brunswick cabinet.

As was widely expected, Dr. John Dornan, the former Horizon Health CEO and newly elected member for Saint John-Portland-Simonds, will be minister of health, in charge of implementing major commitments that were at the heart of the Liberal election campaign.

Other newcomers in the greater Saint John area — where the Liberals won a majority of seats in the election — include Saint John Harbour MLA David Hickey as housing minister, Rothesay MLA Alyson Townsend as minister of post-secondary education, training and labour, and Quispamsis MLA Aaron Kennedy as minister of local government.

A woman standing at a microphone with a group of people standing behind her.
Holt unveiled a list of ministers on the eve of her government's swearing-in. She is seen here with her new Liberal team at a recent event. (Jacques Poitras/CBC)

Hampton-Fundy-St. Martins MLA John Herron is also in cabinet as minister of natural resources.

The new cabinet will be sworn in during a ceremony at the legislature Saturday at 2 p.m.

All MLAs elected from all parties on Oct. 21 will take their oaths earlier in the day, at 11 a.m.

Including Holt, six of the 19 ministers will be women.

Besides Holt and Townsend, they are: Education Minister Claire Johnson; Social Development Minister Cindy Miles; Tourism, Heritage and Culture Minister Isabelle Thériault; and Minister for Seniors and Women's Equality Lyne Chantal Boudreau.

Holt had a large number of Moncton-area MLAs to choose from. 

A man in a blue suit and red tie stands outside smiling at the camera.
Holt has tapped two-term Bathurst MLA René Legacy for a major role, naming him deputy premier, minister of finance and the treasury board, and minister of energy. (Jacques Poitras/CBC)

In addition to Johnson and Boudreau, Rob McKee will become minister of justice and attorney general and will also have cabinet responsibility for addictions and mental health.

And Robert Gauvin, a former Progressive Conservative minister who quit the Higgs government and ran against Holt for the Liberal leadership, becomes minister of public safety and minister for La Francophonie.

A 4x4 photo graph, with 16 headshots of different people.
Newly announced executive council members include, clockwise from upper left: John Dornan, Claire Johnson, Keith Chiasson, Cindy Miles, Isabelle Thériault, Aaron Kennedy, Gilles LePage, Chuck Chiasson, Robert Gauvin, Alyson Townsend, John Herron, Pat Finnigan, Luke Randall, David Hickey, Jean-Claude D’Amours and Lyne Chantal Boudreau. (CBC)

Other ministers include:

  • Chuck Chiasson as minister of transportation and infrastructure.

  • Keith Chiasson as minister of Indigenous affairs.

  • Luke Randall as minister of economic development and minister responsible for Opportunities New Brunswick, N.B. Liquor and Cannabis N.B.

  • Gilles Le Page as minister of environment and climate change, and for the Regional Development Corporation.

  • Pat Finnigan as minister of agriculture, aquaculture and fisheries. 

  • Jean-Claude D'Amours as minister of intergovernmental affairs and minister responsible for immigration.

Holt announced five other Liberal MLAs will hold key roles in the legislature.

A man in a blue suit speaking into a handheld microphone
Rob McKee will become minister of justice and attorney-general and will also have cabinet responsibility for addictions and mental health. (Jacques Poitras/CBC)

She said her caucus will vote for Madawaska Les Lacs-Edmundston MLA Francine Landry to become Speaker in an election by all MLAs.

Veteran Liberals Guy Arseneault and Benoît Bourque will be deputy speakers.

Belle-Baie-Belledune  MLA Marco LeBlanc will manage the government's legislative agenda as government house leader and Shediac-Cap-Acadie MLA Jacques LeBlanc will be the government whip.

Corrections

  • A previous version of the story said René Legacy is in his third term. In fact, this is his second term.
    Nov 01, 2024 9:55 PM AT

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jacques Poitras

Provincial Affairs reporter

Jacques Poitras has been CBC's provincial affairs reporter in New Brunswick since 2000. He grew up in Moncton and covered Parliament in Ottawa for the New Brunswick Telegraph-Journal. He has reported on every New Brunswick election since 1995 and won awards from the Radio Television Digital News Association, the National Newspaper Awards and Amnesty International. He is also the author of five non-fiction books about New Brunswick politics and history.

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