(Ottawa) MP Emmanuel Dubourg, who has represented the Montreal riding of Bourassa in Ottawa for ten years, announced Wednesday that he will not be a candidate in the next federal election.
“It is a great honor for me to serve for 16 years as a provincial and federal deputy and moreover as the only deputy of Haitian origin. However, I must bow out,” he told the House of Commons.
During his brief speech, the MP continued his thanks, in particular to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau “for this opportunity to serve Canadians”, and to Jean Charest “for his sincere friendship” while he was a member of the National Assembly of Quebec.
“Mom, dad, thank you for all the sacrifices you made for me,” he said in Creole. He later ended in that same language with the words “I walk alongside you.”
In an interview with The Canadian Press, Mr. Dubourg explained that he judged that after “40 years of public service”, when he takes into account in particular his service record at the Canada Revenue Agency, he was time to turn this page.
“And then, 65, I think it’s an age that resonates,” he said with a smile in his voice.
Mr. Dubourg assured that this “long-considered” decision was carried out on his “own initiative” and that it was not initiated by Justin Trudeau or his team. “The Prime Minister would have liked me not to leave. That’s clear,” he said.
The Bourassa riding is a liberal stronghold. In the previous elections, in 2021, Mr. Dubourg won 60.4% of the votes. His closest opponent, the Bloc candidate, only received 18.7%.
Mr. Dubourg has represented this constituency since 2013, which covers the Montréal-Nord district and part of the Ahuntsic-Cartierville district. He took over from the former mayor of Montreal, Denis Coderre, who was the deputy from 1997.