(Ottawa) A few months before the next federal election, Justin Trudeau is losing another player: New Brunswick MP René Arseneault announced Friday that he would not seek a new mandate, according to local and national media.
The Acadian elected official, who has represented the riding of Madawaska—Restigouche since 2015, has announced his intention to bow out of a New Brunswick radio station, citing family reasons.
“At some point, it comes with a sacrifice to be involved in politics. You have to put family aside, and politics and obligations first,” he explained to Frontière FM station.
“I think 10 years […] “I think that working as a federal MP in a large constituency was enough,” added the outgoing MP during the same interview.
He has one “scar” from his time in the House of Commons: that of not having been able to get his private member’s bill adopted, aiming to make the oath of allegiance to the king optional.
” [Elle] “It may close, but it will leave a big mark on my heart. That was something that I think my government should have supported,” he said on Frontière FM.
The information first reported by this Edmunston station was confirmed by Radio-Canada on Friday.
As of this writing, Friday afternoon, The Press had not yet managed to reach René Arseneault.
The Maritime Battleground
The fight promises to be tight between the Liberals and the Conservatives in the Atlantic provinces during the next election, which must take place no later than next October.
The carbon pricing issue has caused headaches for Maritime Liberal MPs, so much so that the Trudeau government opened a hole in its platform last fall.
In 2015, the Liberals completed a complete sweep of the Atlantic provinces, winning all 32 contested seats.
The picture could be completely different after the next election.
According to polling aggregator site 338Canada, the Liberals are either neck and neck with the Conservatives or behind them in the Maritimes.