At the end of June, Premier Ford announced his new Cabinet, including the appointment of The Honourable Neil Lumsden as the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport. Minister Lumsden represents the riding of Hamilton East-Stoney Creek and, following a successful CFL career, has spent many years working in sports marketing. He was inducted in to the CFL Hall of Fame in 2014.

Several Ministers were also re-appointed to their previous positions, including Peter Bethlenfalvy as Minister of Finance, Vic Fedeli as Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, and Monte McNaughton as Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development.

At FilmOntario we have been reaching out to all members of the new Cabinet to continue the dialogue about the industry’s economic and cultural contributions to the province. We look forward to working with the new government on implementing the tax credit changes announced in the 2022 Provincial Budget. It is expected that the government will re-introduce this Budget when the legislature resumes sitting on August 8, after they deliver their first Speech from the Throne.

Finally, we would like to thank the outgoing Minister of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries, Lisa MacLeod, for her work on behalf of the industry during her time as Minister.

(Header photo from Premier Doug Ford’s Twitter feed.)