CHARLOTTETOWN - Ladies and gentlemen, start your cabinet speculation engines.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper waved a big red flag in front of his ministers Thursday afternoon, wrapping up a three-day caucus retreat half a day early with a public announcement: cabinet personnel decisions -- "one way or the other'' -- will be coming in short order.
Putting a fresh face on a minority government that's been in office for 18 months was a theme of the strategy session here involving some 125 MPs and 24 Tory Senators.
Several MPs and even some cabinet members acknowledged that a new agenda is being debated.
But few expected the prime minister to drop so broad a hint that a cabinet shuffle is in the works.
"Obviously we'll have to make a decision on that before we reach the fall session, one way or the other,'' Harper said in response to a question about cabinet changes.
"And you can anticipate we'll make our decisions on that, one way or another, fairly shortly.''
The statement, noncommittal as it may seem, effectively puts Harper's entire front bench on notice. Cabinet ministers have reportedly already been told not to make travel plans for the week of Aug. 13.
As for his autumn governing priorities, Harper said he knows what they are but wouldn't want to "scoop'' himself.
He said they'll follow the "big themes'' of his Conservative government to date: tackling crime, reforming the Senate, sound financial management in Ottawa, environmental policy changes, international relations and improving government accountability.
Harper spoke to the media a day after his office ordered RCMP officers to evict reporters from the lobby of the hotel where the caucus meetings were taking place.
The prime minister also said he'd love to give Canadians a big tax cut in the next federal budget, but it will depend on the country's finances.
The Conservatives introduced a big-spending budget in March in what most anticipated was a pre-election bonanza. The spring vote never materialized as popular support for the Tories stalled in minority-government territory, where it remains.
Some party supporters have publicly groused that among the government priority changes needed this fall is a return to fiscal conservatism.
Harper gave some hint of the debate that took place behind closed doors in Charlottetown this week.
"I will constantly remind my MPs that every MP who asks for a tax cut almost inevitably also asks for some spending for their particular riding or their particular constituency of interest as well. So obviously we'll have to balance those things as we approach the next federal budget.''
Acknowledging there's a governing agenda required beyond the mantra-like five priorities that helped vault the Tories to minority power in January 2006 was something of a breakthrough here this week.
The summer strategy session comes as some of the senior thinkers in Canada's conservative movement -- including former prime minister Brian Mulroney and Harper mentor Tom Flanagan -- have publicly suggested the government is due for some fresh ideas.
Health Minister Tony Clement was among the first cabinet member to publicly acknowledge as much.
"I think we've had great progress on the five priorities, obviously,'' Clement said outside the hotel during a lunch break Thursday.
"And so I think it's appropriate to look ahead if Parliament's going to sit longer -- which is certainly our preference, too.''
MPs from all four federal parties appear to feel the threat of a snap election has passed and that the current Parliament will last at least until next spring, if not into 2009.
Indian Affairs Minister Jim Prentice, the chair of the powerful cabinet priorities and planning committee, refused to bite on any questions regarding a renewed government agenda.
Prentice painted the country as a sea of political tranquility.
"We're satisfied from what we see being out there in our constituencies across the country that Canadians are satisfied and they're proud of what this government's doing, and they're proud of the prime minister,'' he said.
His comments came as yet another national poll emerged Thursday placing Conservative support more or less even with the Liberals in the low 30 per cent range.
Many MPs feel the party just isn't getting out its message. A day after the caucus retreat got off to a rough start, cabinet ministers and backbenchers went out of their way to chat with reporters outside the Charlottetown hotel.
On Wednesday, the Prime Minister's Office instructed RCMP officers to evict reporters from the hotel lobby, and a number of Conservative MPs quietly expressed surprise and consternation over the heavy-handed tactics.
The Mounties involved made it clear the expulsion was all about message control, not security, but Public Security Minister Stockwell Day was not one of the ministers sent out to speak with the media Thursday to explain whether such political activity is within the RCMP mandate.
Prentice was left to defend the PMO practice of using the RCMP security team to control the media.
"I don't think that's the least bit unreasonable,'' he said.
Yet as if to atone for Wednesday, the Conservatives made a show of opening the caucus room for a photo opportunity to start the day.
MPs and senators belted out the national anthem, and the prime minister welcomed former Liberal MP Joe Comuzzi into the Tory fold before media were ushered off the property.
