Ontario Deputy Premier Christine Elliott will not run for re-election in June, but will continue her job as health minister until then.
Posted at 9:21 a.m.
Mme Elliott says she made the decision not to run in the upcoming provincial election after “thought and discussion” with her family.
She says Premier Doug Ford asked her to continue working with his government after she told him of her decision.
Mr. Ford says that Mr.me Elliott has been a close personal friend of his for decades and has been supportive of him since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The announcement of M.me Elliott comes shortly after another member of Doug Ford’s cabinet, Rod Phillips, not only said he would not run for office but also resigned last month.
Mme Elliott was first elected to the Legislative Assembly in 2006, but left politics for three years after losing the Progressive Conservative Party leadership race in 2015 – one of her three attempts to lead the left.