Ontario Labour Minister Monte McNaughton leaving government for private sector

Ontario Minister of Labour Monte McNaughton is leaving the Progressive Conservative caucus to take a job in the private sector.

In a statement Friday morning, McNaughton said he is stepping down from his cabinet duties “effective immediately,” and will be resigning his seat “in the days ahead.

“It has been the honour of a lifetime to serve the people of Ontario as Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training, and Skills Development for more than four years,” McNaughton said.

“I want to express my deepest gratitude to the people of Lambton-Kent-Middlesex. It has been a privilege to have represented you since 2011.”

In his own statement, Premier Doug Ford said he was grateful for McNaughton’s work, adding he was a key member of the provincial government.

“He made this decision based on what is best for him and his family at this point in his life and career,” Ford said.

McNaughton has been an MPP 12 years. Much of his work as labour minister focused on addressing the province’s labour shortage and encouraging more young people to go into the skilled trades.

He has been a key ally to Ford by drumming up support from private sector unions in the construction industry.

This resignation comes during a period of turmoil for Ford’s government, with McNaughton becoming the third cabinet minister to leave his post in as many weeks.

MPPs Steve Clark and Kaleed Rasheed both recently vacated cabinet jobs amid the ongoing Greenbelt controversy.

McNaughton said he knows “recent events” will cause some people to “speculate” about the reasons for his departure.

“I want those people to know that my decision is completely unrelated to those events,” he said.

“I’m making this decision because it’s the right one for me and my family.”

New Democrat Leader Marit Stiles immediately issued a statement of her own on McNaughton’s resignation, saying the Ford government is in “complete and utter disarray,” and “fractured after lurching from scandal to scandal.

“We can’t have a government that’s so entangled in its own messes that it’s not helping Ontarians with the very real challenges they’re facing,” Stiles said.

“People deserve a stable government that sees their frustration with the affordability crisis and how much the housing crisis is hurting them — and offers solutions that actually make their lives easier.”

Stiles is set to speak with reporters later on Friday morning.