Ford Reshuffles Ontario Cabinet to Put Province on ‘Long-Term Footing’ for Trump Trade War

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Ontario Premier Doug Ford has reorganized his cabinet with an unusually explicit purpose: preparing Canada’s largest provincial economy for a trade confrontation with the United States that his government no longer appears to regard as temporary. Announcing the changes on September 10, Ford said Ontario was preparing for the “long haul” as U.S. President Donald Trump escalates tariffs and other trade restrictions against Canadian products.

The reshuffle moves several ministers into new economic and spending roles, fills vacancies created by recent departures and adds a dedicated artificial-intelligence portfolio. But it also carries political baggage, particularly the reassignment of David Piccini while an ethics investigation continues. Behind the personnel changes sits a larger question for Queen’s Park: how does an economy built around extraordinary access to the U.S. market become more resilient when that access can no longer be taken for granted?

Ford Is Treating the Trade War as a Long-Term Governing Problem

The most important part of the reshuffle may be the language Ford used to explain it. Rather than describing the changes as routine mid-term housekeeping, the premier said Ontario needed a team capable of protecting workers and businesses while building what his government calls a more competitive, resilient and self-reliant economy. His office explicitly linked the cabinet changes to Trump’s tariffs and other U.S. trade measures. Ford also told reporters that roughly nine ministers were affected as he sought a “fresh outlook” in several ministries.

That framing suggests Queen’s Park is increasingly planning around prolonged economic uncertainty instead of waiting for relations with Washington to return to normal. Ontario’s cabinet now contains 37 members, including eight associate ministers, compared with the 21-member cabinet Ford formed after becoming premier in 2018. The larger team gives the government more specialized portfolios, but it also creates a straightforward performance test: additional ministerial capacity will matter only if it produces faster investment decisions, stronger supply chains, new customers and meaningful protection for exposed workers.

David Piccini Moves From Labour to an Infrastructure Portfolio Worth Watching Closely

One of the most politically sensitive decisions was moving David Piccini from labour, immigration, training and skills development to infrastructure. Ford argued that the reassignment was a natural progression because Ontario has been training workers for skilled trades and now needs those workers deployed on a large pipeline of construction and infrastructure projects. The Infrastructure Ministry has responsibility for major provincial planning and funding and works with Infrastructure Ontario, giving Piccini an influential position as the government tries to keep investment and construction moving through trade uncertainty.

The reassignment comes with significant baggage. Ontario’s Integrity Commissioner has been investigating Piccini in connection with the Skills Development Fund, following complaints from opposition MPPs. The provincial auditor general previously concluded that the program’s selection process was not fair, transparent or accountable. Among its findings, 549 applications selected by the minister’s office and approved for funding had received poor, low or medium rankings, collectively accounting for approximately $742 million. Ford has continued defending both Piccini and the broader training program, making the infrastructure appointment a consequential vote of confidence.

Trevor Jones Inherits Labour as Protecting Jobs Becomes Central to the Trade Response

Trevor Jones moves from agriculture into the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development, placing him directly in charge of a portfolio that could become increasingly important if tariffs lead to plant disruptions or layoffs. Jones has served as agriculture minister and previously held roles connected to economic development and emergency preparedness. Sam Oosterhoff, who had been serving in an associate-minister position, takes over agriculture, food and agribusiness.

The labour change matters because Ontario’s trade strategy is not only about companies. Workers in manufacturing, steel, automotive production, forestry and other export-oriented industries may require retraining or transition support when orders decline or production moves. Governments face a delicate problem in such circumstances: employers need help preserving viable businesses, while employees need realistic paths into jobs that will still exist several years later. Ontario is already operating tariff-response training programs, including federally supported measures intended to help as many as 27,000 workers retrain or upgrade their skills. Jones therefore inherits a ministry sitting at the intersection of trade policy, industrial transformation and household economic security.

Kinga Surma’s Move to Treasury Board Gives Her Influence Over the Government’s Spending Choices

Kinga Surma leaves infrastructure to become president of the Treasury Board, filling a role that had been vacant since Caroline Mulroney left provincial politics in June. Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy had been handling Treasury Board duties on an interim basis. Surma spent roughly five years overseeing infrastructure, giving her experience with the kind of large capital projects Ford frequently presents as a defence against economic uncertainty.

Treasury Board is more than an administrative post. The secretariat plays a central role in expenditure management, government-wide financial planning, risk management, internal auditing and oversight of public agencies. That gives Surma substantial influence at a moment when Ontario is promising both aggressive support for tariff-affected businesses and continued investment in infrastructure. Those goals can become expensive quickly. For a government trying simultaneously to protect industries, accelerate construction and maintain fiscal discipline, deciding which projects receive public dollars may become as consequential as negotiating with Washington. Surma’s new job effectively moves her from managing a major spending ministry to helping scrutinize spending decisions across the provincial government.

Zee Hamid and Brian Saunderson Fill Vacancies Created by Recent Departures

Not every change was primarily about trade. The reshuffle also filled holes created by departures from Ford’s cabinet. Zee Hamid was promoted to minister of tourism, culture and gaming after Stan Cho resigned amid controversy over approximately $16,000 in Toronto hotel expenses despite representing a Toronto riding. Hamid had been serving as an associate solicitor general responsible for auto theft and bail reform. The government did not replace that associate-minister role, saying its mandate had been fulfilled.

Brian Saunderson, meanwhile, enters cabinet as minister of sport after Neil Lumsden retired. Saunderson brings an unusual connection to the portfolio as a former Olympic rower. These appointments illustrate the dual purpose of the reshuffle. Ford needed to fill vacancies regardless of the trade war, but his government has packaged the resulting cabinet as a team built for economic resilience. Tourism, culture and sport may sit outside the traditional tariff battlefield of autos or steel, yet they remain economically significant sectors. A weaker Canadian dollar, declining U.S. travel or changing domestic spending patterns can all reshape their fortunes during an extended cross-border dispute.

Ontario Is Adding an AI Minister While Keeping Its Core Economic Team Largely Intact

Ford created a new position of associate minister of artificial intelligence adoption and appointed Vijay Thanigasalam to the role. The government says the portfolio will focus on helping companies adopt AI, improving productivity and preparing workers for technological change, including assisting people whose jobs may be displaced by AI. Matthew Rae also joins cabinet as associate minister of energy-intensive industries, while Michelle Cooper takes over the associate mental-health and addictions portfolio previously held by Thanigasalam.

At the same time, Ford preserved considerable continuity in the ministries most directly connected to the province’s economic strategy. Vic Fedeli remains minister of economic development, job creation and trade; Peter Bethlenfalvy stays in finance; Stephen Lecce continues as minister of energy and mines; and Prabmeet Sarkaria remains transportation minister. That combination of continuity and specialization is revealing. The government is not abandoning its existing industrial strategy. Instead, it appears to be adding narrower responsibilities around AI, energy-intensive manufacturing and other areas it believes could generate investment or productivity gains. The challenge will be turning portfolio titles into measurable economic gains rather than simply expanding the organizational chart.

Ontario’s Dependence on the U.S. Explains Why the Stakes Are So High

Ontario has more exposure to changes in American trade policy than the political language alone might suggest. Provincial planning documents estimate that approximately 285,000 Ontario jobs, representing about 3.5 per cent of total provincial employment, are directly associated with goods exports to the United States. Broader measures of employment supported by U.S. export demand are substantially higher. Federal economic-development officials estimate roughly one in nine Ontario jobs depends on American export demand when indirect exposure is included.

Automotive manufacturing demonstrates the vulnerability particularly clearly. Federal data indicate Ontario’s auto-manufacturing sector employs more than 95,000 people, while approximately 96 per cent of Ontario’s automotive exports went to the United States in 2025. Autos and parts shipped south were worth roughly $60 billion that year. That level of integration cannot be replaced quickly. For a parts supplier in southwestern Ontario, a tariff is not an abstract percentage on a customs form; it can affect production schedules, investment decisions and whether a future vehicle program is assigned to an Ontario plant or somewhere else.

The Cabinet Shuffle Comes With Billions of Dollars in Tariff-Response Programs

The personnel changes arrived alongside a substantial expansion of Ontario’s economic defences. On September 10, the province broadened eligibility for both the Protect Ontario Financing Program and the Ontario Together Trade Fund as additional American tariffs and import restrictions approached. The $1-billion financing program is designed to provide working-capital loans to tariff-affected companies that need help meeting costs such as payroll, leases and utilities.

The Ontario Together Trade Fund, meanwhile, has $150 million available to support businesses seeking new markets, expanded manufacturing capabilities and more resilient domestic supply chains. The government says it has announced nearly $30 billion in tariff-related relief and economic support since April 2025 when broader measures, investments and liquidity programs are counted. These programs help explain why cabinet portfolios involving finance, Treasury Board, economic development and labour have become central to Ford’s trade-war strategy. A company may survive an immediate tariff shock with financing, but long-term resilience requires something harder: finding alternative customers, improving productivity or restructuring supply chains so the same emergency assistance is not required indefinitely.

Recent Economic Data Show Both the Risk and the Possibility of Diversification

The latest labour data do not show a simple manufacturing collapse, which is important when assessing the government’s rhetoric. Statistics Canada reported that employment across Canada fell by approximately 42,000 in August, while the national unemployment rate held at 6.4 per cent. Manufacturing was actually the only major industry to post a statistically significant monthly employment increase, gaining about 22,000 jobs nationally, including approximately 14,000 in Ontario. At the same time, Statistics Canada warned that industries dependent on U.S. export demand continue to operate in an uncertain environment.

Trade figures also reveal a gradual shift beyond the American market. In July, Canadian merchandise exports to the United States fell 6.6 per cent, while exports to countries other than the U.S. rose 7.4 per cent to a record $25.6 billion. That is encouraging for diversification, but it should not be mistaken for an overnight replacement of the American market. Ontario’s manufacturing supply chains were built around geographic proximity, integrated production and decades of continental trade. Finding more customers abroad can reduce exposure; reproducing the economics of the U.S. relationship is far more difficult.

The Political Test Will Be Whether the New Team Produces Results Rather Than New Titles

Ontario’s opposition parties immediately challenged Ford’s presentation of the reshuffle. NDP Leader Marit Stiles argued that Piccini should have been removed from cabinet instead of reassigned and criticized the overall size of Ford’s executive council. Liberal critics similarly focused on Piccini’s continuing presence while the Integrity Commissioner’s investigation remains unresolved. Green Leader Mike Schreiner said Ford needed to change his government’s priorities, not simply rearrange cabinet positions.

Those criticisms do not determine whether the economic strategy will work, but they highlight the two tests facing the premier simultaneously. Ford must show that the government can administer large amounts of public money with transparency while responding quickly enough to protect businesses and workers from an unpredictable trade environment. The reshuffle gives him a team built around infrastructure, skills, investment, spending oversight and increasingly technology adoption. Its success will ultimately be measured outside Queen’s Park: in factory investment, employment, business survival, export diversification and whether Ontario becomes less vulnerable to the next decision made in Washington.

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