Premier Kathleen Wynne has brought new hands on deck as she sets a course for the June election with a cabinet overhaul that rivals derided as shuffling the chairs on a sinking ship.

“I have a very strong team,” Wynne told reporters during a campaign-style visit to the new advanced cardiac care unit at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Barrie on Wednesday.

As disclosed by the Star, the retirement of top ministers Deb Matthews, Brad Duguid and Liz Sandals triggered the cabinet shuffle, which led to promotions for three backbench MPPs.

Entering cabinet ahead of the June 7 vote are Status of Women Minister Harinder Malhi (Brampton-Springdale), Natural Resources Minister Nathalie Des Rosiers (Ottawa-Vanier) and Tourism, Culture and Sport Minister Daiene Vernile (Kitchener-Centre).

All are first-term MPPs who represent key ridings.

“I want to make sure that we have that team that’s going to carry us into the election and beyond,” the premier said, playing down the loss of seasoned veterans like Matthews, Duguid and Sandals.

“It has been wonderful to have the people who have served for the last number of years, but the reality is there’s new experience and there’s a new perspective that can come to the table and carry us into the election and beyond,” she said.

Progressive Conservative Deputy Leader Steve Clark said the premier squandered an opportunity to shrink the size of her “bloated” 29-member executive council.

“Wynne has made this cabinet the largest in the country, has the privilege of overseeing a record of scandal, mismanagement and waste and the largest debt of any province or state in the world,” said Clark.

NDP House Leader Gilles Bisson said Wynne seemed to be more concerned about saving Liberal seats in Kitchener-Waterloo, Brampton and Ottawa than anything else.

“Today’s game of musical chairs gives people no hope that Wynne is focused on fixing the things that matter most to Ontario families, things like the hospital overcrowding across the province, the crisis in long-term care or sky-high-and-soon-to-rise-again hydro prices,” said Bisson.

“Instead, she’s focused on giving Liberal MPPs at risk of losing their seats a title to pad their MPP resumé before the election,” he said.

Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner said politics is trumping policy.

“The only reason to replace three veteran cabinet ministers who aren’t standing for re-election is to promote Liberal backbenchers to raise their profile in hopes of helping the unpopular government get re-elected,” said Schreiner.

“There was no need whatsoever to implement a shuffle just five months before the election. Moving eight Liberals into new cabinet posts is a waste of peoples’ money,” he said.

Asked by a reporter at a joint news conference following the cabinet swearing-in if they felt like passengers on the Titanic, the ministers all smiled and said in unison: “No!”

Ministers being moved within cabinet are:

Indira Naidoo-Harris (Halton), who becomes education minister and continues as minister for early years and child care

Steven Del Duca (Vaughan), who moves from transportation to Duguid’s old job at economic development and growth

Eleanor McMahon (Burlington), who replaces Sandals as president of the treasury board after previously serving as minister of tourism, culture and sport

Kathryn McGarry (Cambridge), who transfers to transportation from natural resources

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Mitzie Hunter (Scarborough-Guildwood), who leaves education to take Matthews’s former post as minister of advanced education and skills

<bullet>Community and Social Services Minister Helena Jaczek, who represents Oak Ridges-Markham, is the new chair of cabinet, a job Matthews had done

There are now 13 women, including Wynne, and 16 men in cabinet.

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