Scrambling to reboot his sputtering government, Premier Doug Ford is replacing Vic Fedeli with Rod Phillips at finance and demoting other poorly performing ministers in a massive cabinet shuffle.

Ford, whose poll numbers have been in a tailspin since Fedeli’s April 11 budget unveiled a slew of unpopular cuts, shook up his executive council Thursday, installing cabinet newcomer Stephen Lecce at education in place of Lisa Thompson.

The premier told reporters the overhaul is to “make sure we have the right people, in the right place, at the right time” for his government’s sophomore year, noting some of “the tough decisions” were made over the first 12 months.

“Could we have done a couple things better? Absolutely. Our message wasn’t getting out,” said Ford, suggesting critical media coverage and union-funded attack ad blitzes are hurting him.

Asked why he took the unprecedented step of firing his finance minister, the premier bristled.

“I don’t look at it that way,” he said, defending the retooling.

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath panned Ford’s rationale, saying “there’s no good way to communicate the kinds of cuts this government has forced on Ontario families.”

Lecce (King-Vaughan) is one of seven new faces in cabinet, which has ballooned by 33 per cent from 21 ministers to 28, including Ford. There are now 19 men and nine women. No ministers were dumped but 12 were moved and six new portfolios created. The previous cabinet was comprised of seven women and 14 men, including Ford.

Fedeli has been downgraded to economic development, a stunning rebuke for the affable Nipissing MPP who was interim Progressive Conservative leader until Ford took over in March 2018.

Caroline Mulroney, who had been attorney general, has been moved to transportation, succeeding Jeff Yurek, who takes over Phillips’ former role at environment. Mulroney is the third PC transportation minister since Ford was sworn in last June 29.

Lawyer Doug Downey (Barrie-Springwater-Oro-Medonte) is the new attorney general.

Mulroney will be assisted by associate minister Kinga Surma, the first-term Etobicoke Centre MPP and long-time Ford friend.

Thompson — now minister of government and consumer services — had raised the ire of school boards, teachers’ unions, parents, and students during her tumultuous tenure at education.

Similarly, Merrilee Fullerton, a disappointment at training, colleges and universities, has been relegated to minister of long-term care. Her replacement is Ross Romano, the Sault Ste. Marie MPP and another cabinet newcomer.

Fullerton had been castigated for not meeting with university presidents, student leaders or other stakeholders as she presided over cuts to tuition assistance programs.

Lisa MacLeod, who Ford blames for the botched handling of autism services and a combative stance with families and therapists, has been jettisoned to head the ministry of tourism, culture, and sport.

Todd Smith, a strong communicator and former radio broadcaster, will take over her duties as social services minister.

Phillips, a successful entrepreneur who has turned around struggling businesses, is viewed as a capable steward of the province’s finances and is a known commodity on Bay Street.

The premier, who marks the Progressive Conservatives’ first year in office a week from Saturday, has been publicly booed recently, including at the launch of the Special Olympics in May and at the Raptors’ celebration Monday.

That has come at the same time as seven negative polls in six weeks.

Fedeli’s banishment followed an uneven rollout of the record-spending $163.4 billion budget — $4.9 billion more than former Liberal premier Kathleen Wynne’s fiscal blueprint last year.

The former treasurer was blamed for the poor communications plan to sell the budget.

He is also being castigated for insisting the Tories adopt auditor general Bonnie Lysyk’s accounting treatment that excludes $11 billion of government money in co-sponsored public pension holdings as assets on the bottom line.

That accounting — designed to make the previous Liberal government’s books look bad — added about $5 billion to a deficit that now sits at $10.3 billion.

Former provincial controller Cindy Veinot resigned in protest over Fedeli’s change last September.

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“Vic always said he was ‘on the record’ in opposition as supporting the auditor on that,” said one frustrated adviser to Ford, speaking on background in order to discuss internal conversations.

Another problem for Fedeli was the premier’s insistence that beer and wine sales be expanded to corner stores.

The ousted finance minister escalated tensions with the Beer Store, which has a 10-year deal with the Ontario government signed in 2015, limiting points of sale to 450 supermarkets as well as existing LCBO outlets.

Breaching that deal could cost taxpayers $1 billion in penalties paid to Molson, Labatt, and Sleeman, which control most of the Beer Store.

The threat of doing so led to a stern warning from the United States Chamber of Commerce, the world’s largest business organization with 3 million members, that it would undermine claims Ontario is open for business.

Staying put are Deputy Premier and Health Minister Christine Elliott, Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Steve Clark, Solicitor General Sylvia Jones, Treasury Board President Peter Bethlenfalvy, Seniors Minister Raymond Cho, Agriculture Minister Ernie Hardeman, Natural Resources Minister John Yakabuski, and Energy Minister Greg Rickford.

Another newcomer is Markham-Stouffville MPP Paul Calandra as government house leader.

Laurie Scott, now infrastructure minister, swaps with Monte MacNaughton, now labour minister.

Other new associate ministers are Jill Dunlop (Simcoe North) and Prabmeet Sarkaria (Brampton South).

Dunlop will help Smith as associate minister of children and women’s issues.

Sarkaria, who joins Cho as the only other visible minority in cabinet, is associate minister of small businesses and red tape reduction.

Former tourism minister Michael Tibollo, already demoted once in a November mini-shuffle, is now associate minister of mental health and addictions.

Bill Walker, who had been government services minister, has been moved to associate minister of energy.

Interim Liberal leader John Fraser said Ford is “panicking.”

“People aren’t fooled. They can bring in the best communicators that they have…kids are going to have bigger class sizes, people aren’t going to be able to get legal aid. You can’t hide those things.”

Green Leader Mike Schreiner said “Ford’s cut-first, consult-later approach to governing will not be fixed by rearranging the deck chairs at the cabinet table.”

“A cabinet shuffle of this magnitude shows there are deep problems in his government,” said Schreiner.

Privately, senior Conservative strategists also worry about the impact of such a radical revamp.

“It looks like chaos,” said one high-ranking Tory, speaking confidentially in order to discuss internal deliberations.

Robert Benzie is the Star’s Queen’s Park bureau chief and a reporter covering Ontario politics. Follow him on Twitter: @robertbenzie

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