Hypocritical Tory posturing aside, new premiers often increase cabinet size over time

Opinion

It’s not unusual for new premiers to choose small cabinets when they’re first elected to government and to increase their size over time.

Smaller cabinets are easier to manage for rookie premiers as they try to navigate the complexities of running a government. Eventually, though, in order to focus on government priorities and to pursue other political goals, new faces are usually added within a year or two.

It was no surprise, then, that Premier Wab Kinew expanded the size of his cabinet to 18 Wednesday by bringing in several new faces to the inner circle of power.

“After spending a year learning how government works… we decided it would be good to bring a few new ministers onto the team so that they can focus on some of these priorities,” Kinew said.

The NDP premier began with a cabinet of 15 ministers when his government was sworn into office just over a year ago. By expanding it to 18, it’s now roughly the size of a typical Manitoba cabinet.

Even former Progressive Conservative premier Brian Pallister eventually expanded his cabinet to 18 members after vowing when he was first elected to government in 2016 to save money by shrinking the size of cabinet by one-third. Pallister initially did that with a 12-member cabinet.

So when opposition Tories today criticize Kinew, as they did Wednesday, for the higher cost of maintaining a larger cabinet, it comes with a healthy dose of hypocrisy.

“Adding millions to the cost of running government does nothing to make life more affordable for Manitobans struggling paycheque to paycheque,” said PC interim leader Wayne Ewasko.

Then it didn’t under Pallister, either.

There was nothing unusual about Kinew’s cabinet shuffle this week. Cabinet-making is more of an art than a science, driven by a long list of considerations, including the need to promote diversity and competency, to reward loyalty and to create departments that advance the priorities of government.

Premiers must ensure there are enough women and people of colour from diverse backgrounds in cabinet to reflect the broader makeup of society. And they attempt to bring in people they believe are the most competent and ambitious to serve around the cabinet table.

First ministers are also eager to appoint MLAs who represent swing ridings. Having a cabinet minister in a constituency they may not normally hold can significantly improve their odds of retaining that seat in the next election.

Premiers have to weigh all of those considerations and land on what they think is the best roster to achieve their political goals.

Mike Moroz, the NDP MLA for River Heights, for example, was given the new post of minister of innovation and new technology. The appointment satisfies a few cabinet-making goals: competency (Kinew praised Moroz for his “work ethic” and “perseverance”), constituency (the NDP would like to hang on to River Heights, which they took from the Liberals in last year’s election), and government priorities (innovation and technology is a stated priority for the NDP).

Moroz’s new department is a critical one. Manitoba desperately needs to grow its economy beyond the status quo by attracting more private capital to the province. That’s not a new goal for the provincial government, which has tried unsuccessfully for decades to elevate the province to a higher tier of economic growth.

Manitoba has long enjoyed the benefits of a diversified economy, which has largely insulated it from severe swings in the business cycle. But it has never come close to achieving the economic strength of manufacturing-based Ontario or resource-rich Alberta and British Columbia.

It’s unlikely Manitoba can match the economic might of those provinces, owing to its size, geography and lack of natural resources. But it needs to achieve a higher level of economic output, not only to improve the standard of living of Manitobans but also to provide government with the tax revenues it needs to pay for expensive infrastructure and front-line services.

Manitoba needs a stronger “economic horse” to pull an increasingly demanding “social cart,” to use one of Kinew’s favourite metaphors.

There’s another reason too: it’s unlikely the NDP government can balance the province’s books in its first term (as it has pledged to do) without a stronger economy that can generate higher tax revenues.

Creating a new department that will focus on promoting innovation and new technology alone won’t do much to improve Manitoba’s economic standing. But it could be a useful first step if the minister in charge and his senior staff can help develop strategies with business and labour to attract more capital to the province in emerging industries.

Doing so is critical for the future prosperity of Manitoba.

It was probably the most significant aspect of this week’s cabinet shuffle.

tom.brodbeck@freepress.mb.ca

Tom Brodbeck
Columnist

Tom Brodbeck is a columnist with the Free Press and has over 30 years experience in print media. He joined the Free Press in 2019. Born and raised in Montreal, Tom graduated from the University of Manitoba in 1993 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and commerce. Read more about Tom.

Tom provides commentary and analysis on political and related issues at the municipal, provincial and federal level. His columns are built on research and coverage of local events. The Free Press’s editing team reviews Tom’s columns before they are posted online or published in print – part of the Free Press’s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.

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