OTTAWA — Stephen Harper kicked off his first day as Canada's 22nd Prime Minister yesterday with controversial appointments to his cabinet and quick implementation of some of his campaign promises, including a confrontational plan to begin $100-a-month child-care payments by this summer.
Mr. Harper imposed new ethics rules on cabinet ministers and senior government officials and said he would take further steps to improve Canadians' faith in public institutions by making government more accountable when Parliament reconvenes April 3.
"We will create opportunity by rewarding hard work and innovation," he told reporters outside Rideau Hall, the Governor-General's residence, where he and his 26 ministers were sworn in.
"We will improve the quality of life in our communities by supporting our seniors, our families and our children. And we will strengthen Canada by defending the safety of our streets, our national interests and the unity of our country."
Stephen Harper poses with his first cabinet after being sworn in Feb. 6 as Canada's 22nd prime minister. (Tom Hanson/CP)
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But Mr. Harper raised eyebrows by moving to patch the holes of Conservative representation in urban Canada with a younger, smaller cabinet that includes one unelected minister and a Liberal defector.
David Emerson, the MP for Vancouver-Kingsway and industry minister in the previous Liberal government, switched parties and was sworn in yesterday morning as Mr. Harper's International Trade Minister.
Montreal financier and Conservative Party organizer Michael Fortier, who holds no elected office, was sworn in as Minister of Public Works. Tory sources said he would soon be appointed to the Senate, where he will have to take questions from opposition parties.
The two men were appointed after Mr. Harper failed to win seats in Montreal and Vancouver in the Jan. 23 election. The Conservatives also did not win any seats in Toronto, but said MPs from around Canada's largest city would represent it more than adequately.
Mr. Harper advocates an elected Senate, although he said yesterday that he had left the door open during the election campaign to make appointments in the event of a lack of regional representation. "Montreal is a very important city for Canada and for my government," he said.
Mr. Fortier said he has a lot to offer the government despite attaining his post through appointment rather than election.
"I believe I am more than a Conservative organizer," he said. "Montreal needs a voice in this cabinet and will do this."
Mr. Harper said he believes it's in the best interest of Vancouverites who voted for Mr. Emerson to have him in cabinet.
"I don't think he should view this as Conservative versus Liberal. I think David Emerson is quite comfortable in our party."
Mr. Emerson said he decided to join the Conservatives after asking himself where he could be more helpful to the people of his riding and his province -- and only after being approached by Mr. Harper.
"It was not a matter of me deciding before the election that I was going to jump across, I had no intention of doing so," he said, adding that if Paul Martin had won the election he would "absolutely" still be a Liberal.
Interim Liberal Leader Bill Graham criticized Mr. Harper for placing an unelected senator in charge of a department that issues billions of dollars in government contracts.
Luring a newly elected MP to switch sides just after an election clashes with the Conservatives' promises about ethics, accountability, and the role of MPs, Mr. Graham said.
"It's one thing for you to say, well, the Liberals did this," Mr. Graham said.
"It's another thing for the people that actually criticized the Liberals for doing it to do it themselves, before they've even had an opportunity to be sworn in."
The 27-member cabinet, which held its first meeting yesterday, is the smallest in recent memory. Jean Chrétien's first cabinet in 1993 had 29 members, although six were secretaries of state.
The new cabinet is regionally balanced, with 10 members from the West, nine from Ontario, five from Quebec and three from Atlantic Canada.
There will be no deputy prime minister, avoiding what could have been a split between former Progressive Conservative members of the party, who wanted Peter MacKay for the job, and the party's Quebec wing, who were hoping for one of theirs.
As it is, Mr. MacKay of Nova Scotia becomes the Foreign Affairs Minister, while Quebeckers Lawrence Cannon and Maxime Bernier get the economic postings of Transport and Industry, respectively. Other Quebec ministers include Josée Verner as Minister of International Co-operation and Jean-Pierre Blackburn as Minister of Labour.
In Ontario, three former members of the Mike Harris government received significant jobs, with Tony Clement being named Health Minister and Minister for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario; John Baird becoming Treasury Board President and Jim Flaherty taking over as Finance Minister.
There are a number of potential hot-button appointments. For example, Mr. Harper has chosen Manitoba's Vic Toews, a social conservative, as Justice Minister.
Mr. Toews would be responsible for the same-sex marriage issue should MPs vote to reopen it.
The cabinet is also notable for those who were not picked, including rising caucus stars such as James Rajotte and James Moore as well as caucus veteran Jay Hill.
Calgary MP Diane Ablonczy, a Reformer elected in 1993, also failed to get the nod, a decision that confused those who feel Mr. Harper has too few women in his cabinet. There are six of them: Heritage Minister Bev Oda, Rona Ambrose (Environment), Diane Finley (Human Resources), Carol Skelton (National Revenue), Ms. Verner and Senator Marjory LeBreton, who becomes Government Leader in the Senate).
Old time Reformers Chuck Strahl of Chilliwack-Fraser Canyon, and Medicine Hat's Monte Solberg received the Agriculture and Immigration posts, respectively.
