Within hours of the official swearing-in ceremony Tuesday morning, the Leader of the Opposition made it clear he's not impressed. Stephen Harper said Tuesday the government's new cabinet is "weak and inexperienced."

Pointing to the promotion of several Martin loyalists, Harper said the prime minister has put together a new team built on old ideas.

Conservative Party House Leader John Reynolds echoed Harper's sentiment at a press conference in Ottawa.

"This cabinet is one small step for Paul Martin, and one step backwards for Canadians," Reynolds said, alluding to the 35th lunar landing anniversary being marked on Tuesday.

Reynolds went on to single out a few appointments his party believes will pose a stumbling block to cooperation between his Conservative Party and the ruling Liberals.

Naming former B.C. NDP premier Ujjal Dosanjh, Bloc Quebecois founder Jean Lapierre and one-time Tory Scott Brison, Reynolds explained their new cabinet roles signal Martin's unwillingness to open the door to working more closely with the Conservatives.

When asked to clarify the difficulty, he said Conservatives would be hard-pressed to find common ground with such ministers in the context of an increasingly left-leaning cabinet.

"There is difficulty working with them because of past statements," Reynolds said, adding his party will nevertheless "do the best job we can for Canadians."

The criticism didn't stop there, however, even as Reynolds offered thinly-veiled praise for the higher profile afforded British Columbia in this cabinet.

"It's always great to get extra cabinet ministers. But I say if you're a Liberal in Western Canada and you're not in cabinet, you better check your pulse."

From the other side of the political spectrum, NDP Leader Jack Layton told reporters he too is concerned by the makeup of the new cabinet.

"The overall conservative tendency of the Martin leadership is reinforced here," Layton told reporters. "And we're disappointed to hear that."

The new cabinet's political stripe continues down the same path Martin began before the election, Layton said.

"The reason he had to appoint so many new members... is because quite a few of the old cabinet ministers lost their seats."

Also troubling the NDP leader is the reduction in the number of women invited to sit at the cabinet table.

Layton announced his party's shadow cabinet last week. Harper plans to do the same on Thursday.