And then there were seven: another Tory calls it quits

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This article was published 03/01/2023 (977 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Another member of Premier Heather Stefanson’s cabinet has announced they will not seek re-election.

Alan Lagimodiere, minister of Indigenous reconciliation and northern relations, who represents Selkirk, announced on social media Tuesday he won’t run again due to “personal family reasons.”

“This was not an easy decision, but I must put my family first,” said Lagimodiere, who was elected in 2016.

“A close family member of mine has a chronic progressive health condition that is non-curable,” he said in a statement to the Free Press.

“I’m stepping back from seeking re-election to ensure that they have the supports they need during this difficult time.”

Lagimodiere is the seventh Tory MLA to announce the end of their political career. The others are: deputy premier Cliff Cullen, Municipal Relations Minister Eileen Clarke, and backbenchers Ralph Eichler, Ian Wishart, Blaine Pedersen and Dennis Smook.

Two Tories were narrowly elected to the legislature this year: Obby Khan and Kevin Klein, who won the seats vacated by former premier Brian Pallister and cabinet minister Scott Fielding.

“I am proud to see the talented candidates that our PC party is attracting, with fresh ideas and new faces,” Lagimodiere said on Twitter

Although he’s not running in the next provincial election set for Oct. 3, he will campaign for whoever the Progressive Conservatives select as their candidate for Selkirk, he said.

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“I will work alongside them to ensure that they win the riding of Selkirk during the next general election.”

Stefanson, he said on social media, “is a tremendous leader.”

“I have no doubt that she is the best leader to lead our party and this province in another victory,” he said. “Our party has done great work during our time in government and I know that this will continue under her leadership.”

The premier’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca

Carol Sanders
Legislature reporter

Carol Sanders is a reporter at the Free Press legislature bureau. The former general assignment reporter and copy editor joined the paper in 1997. Read more about Carol.

Every piece of reporting Carol produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.