Officials confirm Prime Minister Stephen Harper is set to announce a minor cabinet shuffle today.

Spokesman Dimitri Soudas used his Twitter feed to confirm plans for a "small cabinet shuffle" scheduled for 2 p.m. at Rideau Hall.

Soudas describes the shuffle as "staying the course with a competent team."

A government insider told The Canadian Press last week that the shuffle would involve a maximum of six ministers and would take place before the end of January.

The major focus of the shuffle is the appointment of a new environment minister — a position left vacant following Jim Prentice's abrupt resignation in November.

The move will also allow Harper to inject some fresh blood into his cabinet as he revs up the Conservative machine for a possible spring election.

Harper has vowed not to call or deliberately provoke an election, but Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff has convinced Tory strategists that opposition parties will use the next federal budget in February or March to pull the plug on Harper's minority government.

Consequently, all political staff have been ordered to cut short their Christmas holidays and be back at work this week.