Executive Council of Manitoba

The Executive Council of Manitoba (informally and more commonly, the Cabinet of Manitoba) is the cabinet of that Canadian province.

Almost always made up of members of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, the Cabinet is similar in structure and role to the Cabinet of Canada while being smaller in size. As federal and provincial responsibilities differ there are a number of different portfolios between the federal and provincial governments.

The Lieutenant-Governor of Manitoba, as representative of the Queen in Right of Manitoba, heads the council, and is referred to as the Governor-in-Council. Other members of the Cabinet, who advise, or minister, the vice-regal, are selected by the Premier of Manitoba and appointed by the Lieutenant-Governor. Most cabinet ministers are the head of a ministry, but this is not always the case.

As at the federal level the most important Cabinet post after that of the leader is Minister of Finance. Today the next most powerful position is certainly the health portfolio which has a vast budget and is of central political import. Other powerful portfolios include Education and Energy.

Current Cabinet

The current ministry has been in place since 1999, with the formation of a government by the New Democratic Party of Manitoba after the leadership contest. This list is current as of the cabinet shuffle conducted on 21 September 2006. There was a mini-shuffle after the death of Oscar Lathlin in late 2008 and again in October 2009 after Gary Doer stepped down and Greg Selinger won the NDP leadership race, becoming the Premier.

After Greg Selinger became the Premier he changed up a lot of the ministers and ministries. There were 14 new ministers, only Gord Mackintosh, Diane McGifford, Christine Melnick, and Peter Bjornson kept their ministries. Also, some of the ministries were renamed or changed around they include:

• The former Ministry of Intergovernmental Affairs became the Ministry of Local Government.
• Sport was pulled out of the Ministry of Culture, Heritage and Tourism and became its own independent ministry.
• Housing was pulled out of the Ministry of Family Services and Housing and put into the new Ministry of Housing and Community Development
• The Ministry of Family Services and Housing became the Ministry of Family Services and Consumer Affairs
• The Ministry of Education, Citizenship and Youth became the Ministry of Education
• The Ministry of Science, Technology, Energy and Mines became the Ministry of Innovation, Energy and Mines
• The Ministry of Healthy Living became the Ministry of Healthy Living, Youth and Seniors
• Co-operative Development was pulled out of the Ministry of Agriculture and given its own Ministry in the responsibilities of the Community Development Minister

New responsibilities given to Ministers include:

• Aboriginal Education
• East Side Road Authority
• Multiculturalism
• International Education
• Neighborhood Alive!
• Community Places

Members are listed in order of precedence.

Lieutenant-Governor
His Honour The Honourable Philip S. Lee		(2009–)
Portfolio	Minister
Premier of Manitoba  Minister responsible for Federal/Provincial Relations  and Minister responsible for Francophone Affairs	Greg Selinger	(2009–)
Minister of Infrastructure and Transportation  Minister responsible for Emergency Measures  and Minister responsible for the Manitoba Lotteries Corporation Act	Steve Ashton	(2009–)
Minister of Innovation, Energy and Mines  Minister charged with the administration of the Gaming Control Act  and Minister charged with the administration of the Manitoba Hydro Act	Dave Chomiak	(2009–)
Minister of Water Stewardship	Gord Mackintosh	(2009–)
Minister of Aboriginal and Northern Affairs  Minister responsible for the Communities Economic Development Fund Act  Minister responsible for sport  Minister responsible for Aboriginal Education  and Minister responsible for the East Side Road Authority	Eric Robinson	(2009–)
Minister of Local Government	Ron Lemieux	(2009–)
Minister of Finance,  Minister responsible for the Civil Service  Minister responsible for Crown corporations review and accountability  and Minister responsible for the Manitoba Securities Commission	Stan Struthers	(2011–)
Minister of Education	Nancy Allan	(2009–)
Minister of Healthy Living, Seniors and Consumer Affairs  and Minister charged with the administration of the Liquor Control Act	Jim Rondeau	(2009–)
Minister of Entrepreneurship, Training and Trade	Peter Bjornson	(2009–)
Minister of Immigration and Multiculturalism	Christine Melnick	(2006–)
Minister of Health	Theresa Oswald	(2006–)
Minister of Housing and Community Development	Kerri Irvin-Ross	(2009–)
Attorney-General of Manitoba,  Minister of Justice,  Minister responsible for Constitutional Affairs,  Minister charged with the administration of The Manitoba Public Insurance Act,  and Keeper of the Great Seal	Andrew Swan	(2009–)
Minister of Family Services and Labour,  Minister responsible for Persons with Disabilities,  Minister responsible for the Workers Compensation Act  Minister responsible for the Status of Women  and Government House Leader	Jennifer Howard	(2009–)
Minister of Culture, Heritage and Tourism	Flor Marcelino	(2009–)
Minister of Advanced Education and Literacy	Erin Selby	(2011–)
Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives	Ron Kostyshyn	(2011–)
Minister of Children and Youth Opportunities  and Minister responsible for Healthy Child Manitoba	Kevin Chief	(2011–)