The Ontario Liberal Party was defeated in the 2018 election and was reduced to third-party status, and Wynne resigned the Premiership.
Jim Bradley (appointed Minister of the Environment) was the most experienced cabinet member, with over fourteen years of service, spanning the entire durations of the two previous Liberal ministries of Premiers David Peterson (1985–1990) and Dalton McGuinty (2003–2013); also, John Gerretsen (appointed Attorney General), Madeleine Meilleur (appointed Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services), and Harinder Takhar (appointed Minister of Government Services) were approaching ten years of experience, as they too had already served the entire duration of the McGuinty ministry.
Wynne included in her cabinet all four of the candidates who had several weeks earlier competed with her for leadership of the Liberal Party that were also eligible to serve in cabinet: the aforementioned Takhar, Sousa, and Hoskins, as well as Glen Murray, who would serve in multiple portfolios as Minister of Transportation as well as Minister of Infrastructure.
Wynne would also helm multiple portfolios, including the Premiership as well as the Ministry of Agriculture and Food.
Her minority governing party caucus also shrank, as on August 1,[4] five by-elections triggered by the retirement from parliament of McGuinty ministry stalwarts Chris Bentley, Margarett Best, Laurel Broten, Dwight Duncan, and McGuinty himself, resulted in three losses against two wins for the Liberal Party.
The 2014 Ontario general election was called unexpectedly on May 2, after the opposition NDP announced they would not vote in support of an upcoming budget proposal.
While Teresa Piruzza, who had been Minister of Children and Youth Services and Minister Responsible for Women's Issues, was the only cabinet member to lose a seat in the election, both John Gerretsen and John Milloy had opted for retirement and declined to run for re-election.
[10] Three established cabinet ministers serving in minor roles (Jim Bradley, Ted McMeekin, and Mario Sergio) were dismissed from cabinet and returned to the back benches, while high-profile minister Madeleine Meilleur (Attorney General) retired from parliament, creating a fourth vacancy.
Seven newly appointed cabinet ministers joined the Wynne ministry, including Laura Albanese, Chris Ballard, Marie-France Lalonde, Kathryn McGarry, Eleanor McMahon, Indira Naidoo-Harris, and Glenn Thibeault, the latter filling the highest profile portfolio among the rookies, appointed Minister of Energy Several ministries experienced reorganisation: Thus while there were 30 cabinet members, the number of portfolios grew only to 29, including the Premiership and one remaining associate ministries.
On January 12, Wynne reorganised several ministries, mostly on the basis of changes to ministerial responsibilities:[13] Thus the number of portfolios swelled to 30.
On January 17, Wynne dismissed high-profile cabinet ministers Brad Duguid, Deb Matthews, and Liz Sandals, as they had announced they would not be running for re-election in the election scheduled for June.
Helena Jaczek took over as Chair of Cabinet from Matthews, while the position of Deputy Premier would remain vacant for the balance of the ministry.
The results of the June 7, 2018 Ontario general election were catastrophic for the governing Liberal Party and for Wynne's cabinet alike.
Of the 27 ministers appointed to Wynne's initial Cabinet, eleven were still serving at the end, including Michael Chan, Bob Chiarelli, Michael Gravelle, Charles Sousa, and Wynne herself, all five of whom also served for part of the previous ministry of Premier Dalton McGuinty.
Gender parity was nearly achieved toward the end of the ministry, as the 28 members of the final cabinet included 15 men and 13 women.