New Stephen Harper Cabinet: Jason Kenney to Continue Harvesting the Canadian Ethnic Vote

Jason Kenney

Why did Stephen Harper’s cabinet renovation stay Jason Kenney as Citizenship and Immigration minister? I thought Kenney was due for promotion. He helped the Conservatives wrestle the ethnic vote away from the Liberals during the May 2 Federal election, especially in immigrant-rich Toronto.

Even the Globe and Mail had predicted that Harper would reward Kenney with a promotion. Obviously, the harvest of the ethnic vote isn’t quite complete. I’d not be surprised if the Ontario Tories invite Kenney to help them court Canadian immigrants during the provincial election this fall.

But we should expect a more ruthless Conservative strategy to grow the ethnic vote. Kenney now chair the so-called Cabinet Committee on Operations in the renovated Harper cabinet, which coordinates the government’s agenda.