Three Ontario Liberals bow out

TORONTO — Ontario’s governing Liberals are scrambling to fill major gaps in their roster just two months before a spring vote after several long-serving legislators, including cabinet ministers, announced they won’t be seeking re-election.

Three Liberal members of the legislature said Thursday they won’t be running in the June election, the latest in a string of senior Liberals who have bowed out.

Minister of Consumer Services and Persons with Disabilities Tracy MacCharles, International Trade Minister Michael Chan, and eastern Ontario backbencher Grant Crack announced their plans to leave political life in separate statements.

Both MacCharles and Chan cited health concerns as the primary reason for their decision without providing details.

The Progressive Conservatives, however, painted the wave of Liberal departures as individuals “jumping off a sinking ship,” and suggested legislators were balking at defending their record on the campaign trail.

The Tories noted at least half a dozen Liberal legislators have yet to put themselves forward as candidates and predicted others would also opt not to run.

Premier Kathleen Wynne brushed off the Tories’ suggestion, saying her departing colleagues had made “very difficult decisions” for personal, not political, reasons.

“Up until a short time ago, they all three had intended to run,” she said, praising them for their years of public service.