Finance Minister Jim Flaherty quits cabinet

OTTAWAToronto MP Joe Oliver will become Canadas next finance minister, replacing Jim Flaherty who made the surprise announcement Tuesday that he was quitting his long tenure atop the economic portfolio.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper was expected to confirm Wednesday that Oliver who is the natural resources minister would be tapped to take over in finance.

It would be a dramatic promotion for the relative newcomer to politics. Oliver, who represents the Toronto riding of EglintonLawrence, was elected in just 2011.

But Oliver, who holds a business degree from Harvard, boasts an impressive resum in the financial sector that includes time as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch, executive director of the Ontario Securities Commission and president and CEO of the Investment Dealers Association of Canada.

One Conservative strategist suggested Tuesday that Oliver, with experience in McGill law, Harvard MBA, securities regulation and Bay St. credentials, would be a solid pick.

He really has the whole package, the source told the Star. His (appointment) will not scare the horses.

As natural resources minister, hes been in the spotlight as the governments point man behind initiatives to build pipelines west across the Rockies and south into the United States to move oilsands crude oil out of Alberta.

But Harper now appears poised to give Oliver a new challenge as his finance minister, according to CBC and CTV, which both reported on his pending new cabinet assignment Tuesday night.

Flaherty, the outspoken MP from WhitbyOshawa, leaves cabinet following eight years in the key economic portfolio.

He has been battling a skin ailment that affected his appearance and often left observers wondering if the demanding finance post was too much for him in his condition. But he said he is stepping down from finance for family reasons.

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Finance Minister Jim Flaherty quits cabinet