‘End of an era’ says Manitoba MP

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This article was published 17/06/2015 (4068 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA – Three Manitoba MPs were among more than 30 Conservatives fêted by their peers at today’s last Conservative Caucus meeting before the next election.

Kildonan – St. Paul MP Joy Smith told the Free Press it was a little emotional for her as she closes the door on 11 years as an MP and more than a decade and a half in elected politics.

“It’s the end of an era,” said Smith, who announced her retirement in January.

Smith said the party put photos of all the MPs who won’t be on the ballot this fall up on a screen during the meeting. That included the late Jim Flaherty, the long-serving finance minister who announced he was retiring in 2014 and died suddenly of a heart attack just a few weeks later.

Winnipeg South MP Rod Bruinooge is also leaving, as is Heritage Minister and Saint Boniface MP Shelly Glover.

In all there are at least 50 incumbent MPs – 31 Conservatives, 11 New Democrats, five Liberals and one Bloc Quebecois – who aren’t running again. It is the highest since 2004, when 58 incumbents resigned, according to an analysis done by www.punditsguide.ca.

The highest number of retiring incumbents recorded in that analysis was in 1993 when the Brian Mulroney government was defeated. There were 72 MPs who didn’t seek re-election in that campaign.

In Manitoba, the three Conservatives are the only ones among the 14 incumbents not running again. Smith said she knows she is making the right decision and plans to focus full time on the foundation she created to help victims of human trafficking.

She does plan to help Conservative nominee Jim Bell campaign in her riding in the fall. He is running against Liberal MaryAnn Mihychuk and the NDP’s Suzanne Hrynyk. Smith already worked on Bell’s nomination campaign, which saw him defeat city councilor Jeff Browaty.

But she says initially she plans to put her feet up and relax.

“I’m going to take a little while and just to breathe,” she said.

Bruinooge did not respond to a request for an interview Wednesday. He has been virtually silent publicly for months. According to the Parliamentary website, Bruinooge has not risen in the House of Commons to speak since December, and has only done so six times since October 2013.

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Sources say Bruinooge is shopping around for a possible run in provincial politics but isn’t going to announce anything until after the federal vote Oct. 19.

The only seat Bruinooge could likely run in is St. Norbert, where the NDP’s Dave Gaudreau won by just 31 votes in 2011.

There are candidates interested, but the PC Party of Manitoba has yet to open St. Norbert for nominations. It is one of only seven ridings in that category leaving many speculating the Tories are leaving it open for Bruinooge to run later this year.

Glover is returning to her job at the Winnipeg Police Service. She took a leave of absence from the WPS to run for Parliament.

mia.rabson@freepress.mb.ca