Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe made the biggest adjustment to his cabinet to date, but the changes reflect a low-risk adjustment rather than a bold change to the front bench.
Changes to Saskatchewan’s cabinet
What changed on May 31 is that five existing cabinet members were placed into new portfolios.
| 1. | Energy and Resources | Jim Reiter |
| 2. | Minister of Justice and Attorney General | Bronwyn Eyre |
| 3. | Advance Education | Gord Wyant |
| 4. | Social Services | Gene Makowsky |
| 5. | SaskBuilds and Procurement Public Service Commission Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority | Lori Carr |
Two backbench MLAs have been elevated into cabinet portfolios while two members of cabinet have been sent back to the MLA benches.
| 1. | Highways with responsibility for the Water Security Agency | Jeremy Cockrill |
| 2. | Environment | Dana Skoropad |
(Fred Bradshaw and Warren Kaeding had been Minister of Highways and Minister of Environment respectively.)
While two new MLAs entering cabinet is encouraging, one would have thought that there would have been more new faces brought in.
Unchanged in Saskatchewan’s cabinet
Ten current cabinet members remain in place and a number of those remain with the bigger portfolios including health, education and finance.
| 1. | Health | Paul Merriman |
| 2. | Education | Dustin Duncan |
| 3. | Finance Deputy Premier | Donna Harpauer |
| 4. | Crown Investments Corporation Labour Relations and Workplace Safety Responsible for the Saskatchewan Workers’ Compensation Board | Don Morgan |
| 5. | Corrections, Policing and Public Safety | Christine Tell |
| 6. | Trade and Export Development Immigration and Career Training Innovation Saskatchewan Tourism Saskatchewan | Jeremy Harrison |
| 7. | Agriculture Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corporation | David Marit |
| 8. | Government Relations First Nations, Métis and Northern Affairs Provincial Capital Commission | Don McMorris |
| 9. | Parks, Culture and Sport Status of Women | Laura Ross |
| 10. | Mental Health and Addictions, Seniors and Rural and Remote Health | Everett Hindley |
Two of the ten cabinet members retaining their portfolios have been in cabinet since the Saskatchewan Party formed government in 2007. They are:
- Donna Harpauer
- Don Morgan
Their longevity in government leads one to suspect that some or most of the members from the class of 2007 will announce their retirement prior to the next general election.
The next provincial election has to be held on or before October 28, 2024 so, there is still an opportunity to have another shuffle prior to that election. If that is the case, the premier will go into the next election with a much different set of cabinet members than what was announced this week.
