Senator Marjory LeBreton Interview

I was delighted to chat with Senator Marjory LeBreton the other day. I’ve heard from many people that Senator LeBreton is perhaps the nicest and most gracious person that one could ever meet in Ottawa and I’m happy to report that from our first meeting, that she is indeed deserving of those kind words.

Although it’s a great place to start, the senator cannot be summed in full by her kindness; LeBreton has an extensive list of achievements that sets the bar high for anyone in Ottawa’s political class. Lebreton is the leader of the government in the Senate of Canada and was recently appointed by Prime Minister Harper to take on the role of Secretary of State for Seniors. A close friend and confidante of former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, Senator Lebreton has also taken on the task of being a close and trusted adviser of Prime Minister Harper.

After the interview, she joked that what really clinched her full support of Stephen Harper was when she found out that he was a cat person.

“And you can blog that!”

Rumours and fact

Yesterday, I reported at 1:30pm that no cabmin would lose their job and that cabinet would grow. Craig Oliver broke the news in the MSM about 8.5 hours later on CTV nightly newscast.

I’ve been tapping many contacts and will confidently predict that one of my minor predictions yesterday was actually wrong. Yesterday, I predicted that there wouldn’t be any growth from Alberta in cabinet.

Today, I can confidently predict that we will see Alberta get more representation in cabinet.

The Toronto Star is reporting that Wajid Khan is going to be appointed to cabinet this morning. My friends at CTV say that they won’t touch that speculation. Good for CTV, I’ve just heard that Wajid Khan will not be joining Harper’s cabinet this morning.

UPDATE 10:22am: Ontario MP Guergis in cabinet.

UPDATE 10:22am: Quebec MP Paradis in cabinet.

UPDATE 10:23am: Saskatchewan MP Ritz in cabinet.

UPDATE 10:26am: Jaffer arrived with Guergis. Speculation: Is Jaffer the the new Alberta representation?

UDPATE 10:30am: Confirmed by Ambrose. She’s out of the environment portfolio.

UPDATE: New jobs: Ambrose (intergovernmental affairs?), Baird (environment?), Solberg, Kenney (in cabinet), Toews (treasury board?), Finley, Van Loan, Jay Hill (in cabinet).

Official news: Nicholson goes to Justice and Attorney General, Lebreton gets Sec. of State (seniors), Solberg goes to Human Resources and Social Development, Toews goes to Treasury Board, Finley goes to Citizenship and Immigration, Ambrose goes to Intergovernmental Affairs and President of the Privy Council, Van Loan goes to House Leader, Baird goes to Environment, Hill gets Sec. of State, Guergis gets Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and International Trade and Sport, Kenney gets Sec of State for Multiculturalism, Paradis gets Sec of State for Agriculture, Ritz gets Sec of State for Small Business and Tourism.