JAY GOLDBERG: Canada has a cabinet accountability problem

Too many ministers leave Canadians wondering who’s in charge

Published Sep 17, 2026  •  Last updated 1 hour ago  •  4 minute read

Nipissing MPP Vic Fedeli is the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade. Photo by Greg Estabrooks /Postmedia Network

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Ontario Premier Doug Ford shuffled his cabinet last week, a move that was triggered by the resignations of three ministers earlier this summer.

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Ford made several moves, including promoting rising star Sam Oosterhoff to the agriculture ministry, but the premier once again created a new cabinet portfolio, which is styled Associate Minister of Artificial Intelligence Adoption.

There’s no denying that artificial intelligence will play a crucial role in society in the future. And certainly, it’s a topic that government has an interest in. But was it really necessary for Ford to create yet another cabinet role, this time within the economic development ministry, at a time when the public is looking for politicians to slim down their budgets just as households are having to do with theirs?

When Ford became premier eight years ago, he had a cabinet with 21 members. Today, the cabinet has grown in size to 37.

This is typical of nearly every government. The more time they spend in office, the bigger the cabinet tends to get and the more portfolios get created out of thin air.

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A larger cabinet costs the public more money in terms of pay for ministers, staffing and the like. But the bigger problem is accountability.

After all, in Ontario there are now two associate ministers that report to the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade. Vic Fedeli is the senior minister, while Nina Tangri will report to him as Associate Minister of Small Business and Vijay Thanigasalam will report to him as Associate Minister of Artificial Intelligence Adoption.

With associate ministries in general, a lot of question marks are warranted. When it comes to issues regarding small businesses, for example, who’s responsible for decision-making? Is it Fedeli as the senior minister? Is it Tangri as the associate small business minister? Is it Ford as the premier?

Back when cabinet ministers were trusted with significant responsibilities, it was clear who called the shots. But now, it’s very far from clear. If Ford wants Fedeli to be Ontario’s economic development minister, shouldn’t he be the one focusing on small businesses and AI adoption?

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This is not just an issue impacting Ontario. Federally, Prime Minister Mark Carney has an artificial intelligence minister, Evan Solomon, sitting alongside an industry minister, Mélanie Joly, while Patty Hajdu carries the employment file as Minister of Jobs and Families. And when it comes to economic development, Carney has carved up that portfolio, giving different ministers responsibilities for different regions of the country.

How does any of this make sense? Yes, AI will be an important component of jobs and economic development in the future, but why doesn’t Canada just have a single minister focused on those areas? And why isn’t economic development a centralized responsibility rather than having it carved up based on different regions when Canada clearly needs a national economic development strategy?

Then there’s the fact that Carney has an international trade minister, Maninder Sidhu, while Dominic LeBlanc is responsible for Canada-U.S. trade.

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The last time I checked, the United States is another country. Yet Canada’s international trade minister isn’t responsible for our largest international trading relationship.

The split was deliberate. When Carney formed his cabinet in May 2025, LeBlanc kept the American file and Sidhu was sent to find new markets everywhere else. In the Canada-U.S. trade negotiations since, LeBlanc has been front and centre, while Sidhu has been a bystander. But a division of labour made on purpose is no less incoherent for it. Why have an international trade minister if he’s not even responsible for overseeing Canada’s most important trading relationship?

All of these cabinet roles make it very difficult for the public to lay the blame at the feet of a particular minister if there’s a policy failure. And, for that matter, it would be hard for a premier or prime minister to-do the same.

It’s time to end the bloat in government and the lack of clear lines of responsibility. Cabinets across the country ought to be reorganized in a way that ministers can be held directly responsible for policy failures and the public knows who to hold accountable.

Canadians deserve accountable government. It’s virtually impossible to get there if one can’t even figure out which minister is tasked with which responsibility. The time to reorganize government in a more efficient and effective way is now, and that starts with changes at the top.

Dr. Jay Goldberg is a political scientist and a fellow with the Frontier Centre for Public Policy

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