Two more Ontario cabinet ministers bow out
They say low poll numbers not a factor in their decisions
TORONTO — Two Ontario cabinet ministers have announced they won’t seek re-election next year, adding to a growing tally of prominent Liberals bowing out at a time when the party struggles in the polls.
Both deputy premier Deb Matthews and Treasury Board President Liz Sandals, however, insisted on Friday that is not the reason for their upcoming departures.
Matthews will remain as the Liberals’ campaign co-chair through the election, saying she has enormous respect for Premier Kathleen Wynne.
“I am confident that, on June 7, 2018, the people of Ontario will give her and her team the mandate to continue to serve,” Matthews wrote in a statement.
Various polls would suggest a different outcome, however, with most putting the Liberals behind the Progressive Conservatives, and one survey even placing them third, behind the NDP.
Sandals, 70, stressed that her 30 years of service and her age were behind her decision to retire.
“This was a challenging decision to make because while I’m ready to be a full-time grandmother, I’ve never had more f aith in Premier Kathleen Wynne and the Ontario Liberal Party,” she wrote in a statement.
University of Ottawa political science professor Genevieve Tellier said that while it’s normal to have some politicians decide they won’t run again, too many can give the impression of fleeing a sinking ship.
“They may have valid reasons to leave ... but of course we cannot forget that the Liberals are unpopular now, so as a perception it could be interpreted that way,” she said. “Probably the opposition parties will try to mention that.”
NDP leader and Hamilton Centre MPP Andrea Horwath issued a statement thanking the pair for their public service and wishing them “best in whatever they take on next.”
Economic Development Minister Brad Duguid announced last month that he would not run in next year’s provincial election.
Former environment minister Glen Murray recently left government for the private sector, and Speaker Dave Levac, the Liberal representative for Brant, and Monte Kwinter, Ontario’s oldest MPP, have also announced they won’t seek re-election. Hamilton- area MPP and former cabinet minister Ted McMeekin is running, seeking re-election in the new provincial riding of Hamilton West-Ancaster-Dundas.
Matthews, who was elected in 2003, will stay as the representative for London North Centre and as advanced education minister until the election. But her announcement serves as an undeniable blow to Wynne, to whom Matthews has been a fiercely loyal deputy premier since Wynne took on her leadership role.
“She shares my vision of a fairer, more progressive, more inclusive Ontario and she knows what it will take to make that happen,” Wynne wrote in a statement. “Because of that, I have relied on Deb as a touchstone time and time again.”
Sandals, who first got into politics through her local school board and was elected to the legislature in 2003, will stay as the representative for Guelph and in cabinet until the election, too.
Wynne said she has often relied on Sandals’ instincts and candour.
“I will miss Liz’s steady hand, wise counsel and friendship,” Wynne wrote in her statement. “Her years of experience and strong set of values have always been a guiding light for me.”