Canadian Cabinet Shuffle Yields New Transport Minister

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has named Chuck Strahl the country’s new transport minister.

Strahl, who was sworn in Monday, is a member of Parliament from British Columbia and a former agriculture minister of who was in charge of Indian and Northern Affairs.

He replaces John Baird, who led Canada’s effort for a new, publically owned bridge built between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario.

Baird has been named the country’s Tory House leader, a post that “further enhances Mr. Baird’s status and reinforces the position of the Detroit River International Crossing (DRIC) in Canada’s list of priorities,” according to a press release from DRIC backers.

The DRIC is the focal point of intense jockeying in Michigan by the current owners of the existing crossing, the Ambassador Bridge.

Under Baird, the Canadian government offered to pay Michigan’s share of building the bridge, an estimated $550 million. (Click here for previous coverage.)