The man known as the Conservatives' bulldog in the House of Commons will now be the face of Canada abroad, as Prime Minister Stephen Harper has tapped John Baird to be his new Foreign Affairs minister, Â鶹´«Ã½ has learned.
Baird's previous position was Government House Leader and garnered a tough reputation based on his performances during question period on Parliament Hill.
CTV's Ottawa Bureau Chief Robert Fife reported the news late Tuesday.
Harper will be announcing the cabinet shuffle 11:15 a.m. Wednesday at Rideau Hall. He has six posts to fill due to ministers retiring or losing their seat in the recent election.
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty will stay in his current role, which was expected as the Conservatives ran heavily on stability and their budget during the election.
The foreign affairs post opened up after Lawrence Cannon lost his Quebec seat to an NDP rival.
Two other Quebec-based cabinet ministers also lost their seats: Josee Verner and Jean-Pierre Blackburn. Another two ministers, both from British Columbia, retired: Chuck Strahl and Stockwell Day.
That means Harper must also appoint new ministers to the portfolios of Treasury Board, Intergovernmental Affairs, Transport, Veterans Affairs and Sports.
He has a caucus of 166 members to choose from, including newly elected Ontario MP Chris Alexander, who served as Canada's ambassador to Afghanistan, and Bernard Valcourt, who won his seat in New Brunswick and once served as a minister of state under Brian Mulroney.
Gender and regional balances always play a part in cabinet decisions, which could mean Quebec MP Maxime Bernier may finally be back in the cabinet after being banished to the backbenches in 2008.
The prime minister is expected to leave another high-profile cabinet minister, Defence Minister Peter MacKay, in his current position.
