Just hours after formally taking office, Prime Minister Stephen Harper found himself already courting controversy with a pair of surprise cabinet picks, which he insisted were regionally — not politically — motivated.
In addition to party stalwarts, Mr. Harper's 26-member cabinet included former Liberal David Emerson — who crossed the floor for the international trade posting — and Michael Fortier, a key party organizer in Quebec.
Mr. Fortier steps in as public works minister even though he isn't a sitting MP in the province, where the Conservatives had already managed to pick up 10 seats.
Speaking with reporters later, Mr. Harper defended both choices.
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Of Mr. Emerson, he said he was long impressed with the MP's service as a Liberal. His appointment, he added, was intended to tap into Mr. Emerson's “very successful private sector career” and increase representation for both Vancouver and British Columbia within governing party.
“I don't think he should view this as Conservative versus Liberal,” Mr. Harper said, following Monday's swearing-in ceremony.
“I think David Emerson is quite comfortable in our party but I thought he could serve people of Vancouver and British Columbia and Canada better in cabinet.”
As for Mr. Fortier, Mr. Harper — who campaigned on a promise of an elected senate — said he would be appointed to the senate for the duration of the current minority government on the condition that he runs for office in the next federal election.
Mr. Harper also said Mr. Fortier's appointment strengthens Montreal's regional representation in cabinet. As well, he called Mr. Fortier's move to the senate as “a temporary appointment” that doesn't interfere with the Tories' plans for an elected senate.
“I do think it's important for Montreal to have a minister in cabinet, and I think it's important to have a minister in cabinet who can answer questions in Parliament and, of course, I think we have found a flexible way of keeping the principle of representing Montreal and still proceeding with an election in future,” he said.
Although the Conservatives made gains across much of the country in the Jan. 23 election, they were shut out of Canada's three biggest cities, Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver.
After the Conservatives held their first cabinet meeting on Monday afternoon, Mr. Fortier told reporters he will accept a "temporary" Senate appointment and run for a House seat in the next general election because there are a number of important political issues relating to Montreal that require a cabinet minister to deal with right away.
"I believe that I am more than just a Conservative organizer," Mr. Fortier, a lawyer, said.
Mr. Emerson, who also spoke to reporters after the meeting, said, "I've always called myself a small-c Liberal."
The Vancouver MP said he was approached by Stephen Harper to join the new government, and he took this as an indication that the new Conservative Prime Minister is moving his party towards the middle of the political spectrum.
Political experts said, although surprising, Monday's appointments weren't without precedent.
“I think the business of cabinet composition makes it very important that certain strands of opinion, certain skills and certain regions of the country are represented,” said Paul Nesbitt-Larking, head of political science at University of Western Ontario's Huron University College.
“If there's a strong perception on the part of the prime minister that one of those things is absent, then he will appoint somebody to fill that gap.
“Clearly, Mr. Harper is feeling there's either a sense of political organization that isn't there on the ground or that the Quebec voice is in need of further representation.”
Typically, when someone other than an elected MP is appointed to cabinet, an elected member of the same party would step aside and the appointed minister would run for office in a by-election, he said.
However, Mr. Nesbitt-Larking said it is “acceptable as well” to make such an appointment by way of the senate, even though such a move is “slightly less conventional.”
He also said it isn't the first time an incoming prime minister has gone outside the ranks of his elected MPs to fill a cabinet post, noting that former Liberal prime minister Pierre Trudeau made a similar appointment in the 1970s.
In 1975, Mr. Trudeau appointed Pierre Juneau as minister of communications, with the expectation he would later win a seat in a by-election. However, Mr. Juneau was defeated in a by-election later that year by the Progressive Conservative candidate and stepped down from the post.
Although Conservative-turned-Liberal Belinda Stronach's decision to cross the floor in the last sitting raised the ire of many Conservatives, Mr. Harper said during the recent campaign that he wouldn't force a by-election in such cases.
In fact, Mr. Nesbitt-Larking said the practice of politicians changing sides is really no longer a rarity.
“I really think that any party that argues it is not going to welcome people crossing the floor is being hypocritical,” he said.
Since the Jan. 23 election, some have suggested that the Conservatives' best bet for governing with a minority would be to join forces with the NDP, which holds 29 seats.
However, while Monday's shuffle bolsters the Conservative Party's overall numbers, it still leaves them short of being able to form a majority if the NDP come onside for a vote in Parliament.
The addition of Mr. Emerson brings the Conservative Party's total number of seats to 125. That number, however, stays the same even with Mr. Fortier's appointment because he won't have a vote in the House of Commons.
With the 29 NDP seats, that puts the overall number at 154 — one short of the magic number need to ensure a piece of legislation passes in the face of opposition from the Liberals and the Bloc Québécois.
With a report from Jeff Sallot
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