New ministers as P.E.I. Premier Dennis King aims to shore up regional, gender representation

Prince Edward Island will be seeing several new faces in cabinet, with five of Premier Dennis King’s newly elected MLAs taking posts, as well as a number of shuffles of existing members.

The executive council for P.E.I. has swelled to 12, the maximum allowed under the act, after the Progressive Conservatives took 22 of 27 seats in the last election.

Six cabinet ministers are returning, but most with new portfolios. That includes health, the hot button issue in the election.

Mark McLane, Minister of Health and Wellness, said it won’t be easy.

“There is no three or four initiatives that will make a significant impact, but we’ll roll up our sleeves and we’ll start to knock one, two, three, four, five, six initiatives off in the coming months.”

Five of the cabinet ministers are new, including former Tory leader Rob Lantz, who won his seat after a close but ultimately unsuccessful run in 2015.

“I haven’t been in this position before, so it’s all brand new,” said Lantz, Minister of Housing, Land and Communities. “All very exciting. We’re all looking forward to getting to work. Our families are here, it’s a day to celebrate today, but we know that there’s some tough work ahead of us.”

The new ministers got their first briefings on their new portfolios Friday after the swearing-in.

This cabinet also boasts four women, the highest number ever appointed to cabinet in the history of P.E.I. The former record was just two.

“To be representative of the population is great,” said Jill Burridge, Minister of Finance. “I think that women do bring a different perspective, at times, which I think that the cabinet will benefit from.”

Three former cabinet ministers were shuffled out to make space for newcomers.

King said he worked to ensure representation from each of P.E.I.’s three counties -- Prince, Queen, and King -- as well as from all five of the Island’s biggest municipalities.