B.C.'s new premier to be sworn in

British Columbia's new premier, Christy Clark, and her new cabinet will be sworn in on Monday afternoon by Lt.-Gov. Steven Point, replacing outgoing Premier Gordon Campbell and his team of ministers.

The ceremony will take place at 1 p.m. PTat Government House in Victoria, when Clark becomes B.C.'s 35th premier and the second woman to serve in the position, after Rita Johnston.

Hercabinet is expected to contain several new faces, including a number of women, but as few as 18 members, meaning several ministers from Campbell's 23-member cabinet will likely be dropped.

Clark was expected to consider a number of factors in her new cabinet, given that she was supported by only one LiberalMLA during the recent leadership race. Among other things,she'll have to find jobs for the three high-profile ministers she defeated to win the leadership.

Many political observers expected second-place finisher Kevin Falcon to be named finance minister and perhaps deputy premier as well. Falcon was widely supported by the conservative side of the Liberal Party establishment during the leadership race.

Finding a job for George Abbott may be more challenging for Clark, givenhis critical commentsabouther during the campaign, but Abbott's background in teaching and hisconciliatory style may help land him back in his old job as education minister.

Few expect Mike de Jong, the third leadership contender,to return as attorney general.He's been widely criticized for the government's decision last fall to pay the $6-million legal bill for two former political aides who pleaded guilty to breach of trust in the BC Rail corruption scandal.

And then there's Moira Stilwell, the former minister of regional economic and skills developmentwho dropped out of the leadership racein thefinal stretch. Stilwellraised her political profile and drew attention to her extensive medical background and maybe in for a promotion, many observers speculate.

A mix of old and new

Bob Plecas, a former deputy minister and longtime political analyst in Victoria, says he expects Clark to follow the old saying about weddings in naming her cabinet, giving "something old, something new, something, borrowed, something blue."

"She'll do something old by putting in four or five of the old standbys, people she ran against probably, and a few others. Something new will be the new members from her caucus, new faces to come in. Something borrowed will be [someone] like Blair Lekstrom, pulled in, I think, from the independent ranks, and something blue refers in my mind to the fact the cabinet has to have a tinge that is Tory blue."

Lekstrom resigned from cabinet last summer amid public outrage over the introduction of the HST, but was sincewelcomed back into the partyat Clark's first caucus meeting.

Clark is also expected to shuffle some of the province's deputy ministers and political appointees.

No seat yet

Once Clark gets her cabinet in place, she'll have lots on her plate, including her plans to introduce afamily-first political agenda. She'll also need to win a seat in a by-election so that she can sit as an MLA in the legislature.

Outgoing Premier Gordon Campbell has already offered to vacate his seat in Vancouver's affluent Point Grey riding to allow Clark to run there, but she has yet to confirm where she will run.

Clark has already said she wants thecontroversial HST issue to be decided in a referendum this summer before she plans a new budget. She has also already moved away fromherearlier promises to call anearly election before 2013.

Clark was first elected in the riding of Port Moody-Burnaby Mountain in 1996 and served asminister of education and deputy premier in 2001. Shewas appointed minister of children and family development in 2004, but she did not seek re-election in 2005, saying she wanted tospend more time with her family.

After leaving provincial politics, Clark became a radio talk show host in Vancouver and sought the Non-Partisan Association's nomination for mayor of Vancouver in 2005, which she lost to Sam Sullivan.