Following up on Prime Minister Paul Martin's elaborate cabinet unveiling, Conservative Party Leader Stephen Harper has revealed the shadow cabinet he hopes can steal the spotlight from a Liberal minority.

Declaring his 40-member shadow cabinet representative of "a strong group to challenge Paul Martin's weak minority government," Harper said he's keen to unleash his team on Parliament.

"This is the face of the new Conservative Party. We have a modern, moderate and diverse group that reflects today's Canada," Harper said in a statement released on his party's website on Thursday.

Confirming expectations, former Deputy Leader Peter MacKay and House Leader John Reynolds were both renamed to their respective posts.

Other senior critics hanging onto their portfolios include:

• Diane Ablonczy, Citizenship and Immigration
• Stockwell Day, Foreign Affairs
• Loyola Hearn, Fisheries
• James Rajotte, Industry
• Vic Toews, Justice
• Bob Mills, Environment
• Monte Solberg, Finance

Conservative MPs staying in the cabinet, but taking new critic portfolios include:

• Rahim Jaffer, Infrastructure and Communities
• Deepak Obhrai, Multiculturalism
• James Moore, Public Works and Government Services
• Brian Pallister, National Revenue
• John Duncan, Natural Resources

And among Harper's new critic appointments are:

• Chuck Strahl, Democratic Reform
• Peter Van Loan, Human Resources and Skills Development
• Gordon O'Connor, National Defence
• Ed Komarnicki, Labour and Housing
• Steven Fletcher, Health
• Jim Prentice, Indian Affairs and Northern Development

One of the highest-profile new additions to the shadow cabinet is former Magna CEO Belinda Stronach. Harper's chief rival in the race to lead the new Conservative Party, Stronach has been charged with the post of International Trade critic.

Harper told reporters he's particularly proud of the calibre of women appointed to his inner circle.

Answering reporters' questions following his first meeting with his newly-appointed senior team in Thursday morning, Harper said he believes they bolster his party's challenge to the government.

"To be blunt, I think I have appointed a series of female shadow cabinet members that are unquestionably qualified for the jobs they are occupying," he said, highlighting intergovernmental affairs critic Rona Ambrose and Quebec critic Josée Verner as standout examples.

Although he noted that, "my approach has always been to look to the future and not to talk about the affiliations of the past," Harper's choices made clear the punishment he doled out for controversial campaign gaffes.

Several outspoken MPs -- namely Randy White, Rob Merrifield and Cheryl Gallant -- who sparked unwanted controversy with comments on abortion and gay rights during the election campaign were not called back to the shadow cabinet.

Scott Reid, who also drew fire for his campaign trail questioning of official bilingualism, managed to avoid being booted from the shadow cabinet. Instead, he was demoted from intergovernmental affairs to the relatively fringe role of critic for northern Ontario economic development.

Reflecting on his new lineup, Harper said he's confident his team will prove effective opposition to the "weak and inexperienced" collection of ministers Martin announced on Tuesday.

"What's most important for our party is to be seen as professional, broadly based and as capable of replacing the government," he said, explaining his decision-making process.

The product of a merger between the Progressive Conservative and Canadian Alliance parties, the new Conservatives were elected to 99 seats in the June 28 vote. Although that is 21 more than its predecessors' combined total, it fell short of the minority some polls suggested Harper might control after election day.

Voters put Liberals in 135 seats, the Bloc Quebecois in 54 and the NDP in 19. There is one independent.

Disappointed with his party's showing, Harper has remained out of the public spotlight since voting day. Reynolds, for example, delivered the party's official public response to the cabinet unveiling in Ottawa on Tuesday.

Nevertheless, the Conservative leader ended speculation he'd taken the election result as a personal failure when he announced, after "widespread consultations," that he intends to lead through the next election.

That means, for now, Harper is content with his status as Leader of the Official Opposition, and holding out for the slim chance Martin's Liberals lose the confidence of the House. In that case, he could be invited to form a Conservative-led government.

In Canada, the average term of a parliamentary minority is 18 months.