Wynne becomes Minister of Agriculture and hands off Rural Affairs Portfolio to Jeff Leal
By Amanda Brodhagen, Farms.com
As anticipated, at the official swearing-in ceremony, Kathleen Wynne became Ontario’s first female Premier and she also became Minister of Agriculture. What wasn’t so expected was that Kathleen Wynne split the Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs portfolio into two, spinning off the Rural Affairs portion of the portfolio to new comer Jeff Leal, MPP from Peterborough. Leal was first elected in 2003 and holds a B.A. in Economics and Political Science from Trent University. The Ministerial portfolio was previously held by Ted McMeekin who is now the new Minster of Community and Social Services.
More than half of the Liberal caucus is now in cabinet – 27 cabinet positions; but there are 20 new members of the cabinet, and only seven veteran and experienced cabinet ministers remain.