So where does that leave [Rod Bruinooge]? Well, with [Vic Toews] still on the cabinet payroll, [Stephen Harper] would have to bestow upon Manitoba a second cabinet posting to create any opportunities for backbenchers. And while it's not unprecedented, it's a pretty rare event.

The Liberals bestowed two cabinet posts on Manitoba following the Red Wave sweep of 1993, in which the Grits took 12 of 14 seats here. However, the second of those ministers was Jon Gerrard, a close friend of then-Prime Minister Jean Chretien. The Tories now hold nine of 14, but none of them boast a relationship with Harper that could match Gerrard's affinity with Chretien. As a result, it is not likely anyone in Harper's inner circle will be convinced that Manitoba deserves a second seat at the cabinet table.

The Harper government certainly needs to promote dynamic, charismatic women if it is to continue its slow march towards a majority government, and on the surface [Shelly Glover] seems to fill that role. Harper's cabinet was woefully short of women last time around and not boosting the number of women in cabinet now would be as silly as, say, cutting arts funding months before you try to woo Quebec in a federal election. We must assume Harper is smarter now than he was then.