No STI minister in Ontario cabinet

The newly elected Ontario Progressive Conservative Party has eliminated research and innovation as a separate ministry as it unveiled its slimmed-down 21-person Cabinet. It is assumed that the portfolio will be handled by Jim Wilson, minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade and MPP for Simcoe-Grey. The PCs ran on a paper-thin platform with no mention of science, technology or innovation. And when surveyed by industry prior to the election about specific innovation plans, the party replied along the lines of economic development but not to specific questions about support for scale-ups and protecting data privacy. Under the previous Liberal governments of Dalton McGuinty and Kathleen Wynne, research and innovation was given its own ministry. Most recently, Reza Moridi – a chartered engineer and physicist - was minister for Research, Innovation and Science after his appointment in 2013. In November 2017, Ontario named Dr Molly Shoichet its first chief scientist -- reporting to Moridi -- after months of search and consultations.