An MPP for 10 years, Jeff Yurek is resigning his London-area seat and will not be seeking re-election in this June’s provincial election.
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Former Ontario cabinet minister Jeff Yurek is resigning his London-area seat and won’t seek re-election in the June provincial election.
The 10-year Elgin-Middlesex-London MPP, who plans to remain in office until the end of February, said Friday his “time in public life has run its course” as he announced his abrupt departure, just five months before the next Ontario election.
“It’s something I’ve been discussing with my family over the past few months,” the Progressive Conservative MPP said in an interview Friday.
“Heading into March and April, the focus at Queen’s Park will be on getting the next election campaign out, and I think having the party focused on that is probably the best time that I am able to step away,” he said.
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Yurek thanked his team for their support and accomplishments over the last 10 years, including launching a provincial forestry strategy, expanding Toronto’s subway system and providing funding for London’s bus rapid transit system, among others.
He also extended his appreciation to his family, including his wife and daughter, as well as the voters of Elgin-Middlesex-London.
“It’s been an honor to serve (residents in my riding),” he said. “I’m quite proud of the people I’ve represented. It’s been a highlight of my life, and I look forward to being a strong member of our community and helping where I can going forward. ”
Yurek, 50, was a pharmacist before entering politics. He was first elected MPP for the riding that includes south London, St. Thomas and Elgin County in 2011, replacing Liberal Steve Peters, who retired, and went straight into Doug Ford’s cabinet after Ford led the Tories back to power in 2018.
Yurek served first as Ford’s minister of natural resources and forestry, then as transportation minister and was minister of the environment, conservation and parks until last summer when he was shuffled out of the cabinet in a shakeup to take the Tories into an election year.
His departure from an often Tory riding in Southwestern Ontario leaves the party, which already had him listed online as part of its 2022 team, little time to find a replacement before the spring election.
Friday, Ford posted thanks on social media to Yurek “for his time and dedication in serving the people” in his riding.
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“Congratulations Jeff on all that you accomplished during your 10 years as an MPP,” he said on Twitter. “Wishing you, your wife and daughter all the best as you enter the next chapter.”
The premier’s office said there are no plans to call a byelection ahead of the general election in June.
With Yurek not seeking re-election, the Tories will be down three veterans in the 10-riding London region in the next election. Perth-Wellington MPP Randy Pettapiece, another 10-year legislator, is not running again, and Chatham-Kent-Leamington veteran Rick Nicholls was expelled from the Tory caucus for refusing to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Trevor Jones, a Leamington civic politician, will run in Nicholls’ riding for the Tories in June.
Yurek’s decision to leave now isn’t “especially surprising,” given his long run in office, said political scientist Cristine de Clercy at Western University.
“He didn’t say exactly why he was leaving, but it’s not unusual that people like him. . . . middle-age, mid-career politicians step down, ”de Clercy said, adding sometimes“ their desire to serve the public simply diminishes and their interests shift and they want to do something different. ”
The Tories won seven of the 10 London-region seats in the last election, the New Democrats three – all in London – and the Liberals none.
Though Yurek’s seat will remain vacant for a few months before the next election is called, de Clercy said the time will allow for a more “transparent process to find new candidates, for all parties, not just the Conservatives.”
Yurek said he looks forward to staying active in his community, but does not plan to become involved politically.
“At this point, I think I’m done with public life per se,” he said. “I think it’s more so supporting our community outside of politics.”
The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada