Hamilton Liberal MP Filomena Tassi has announced she won’t run for re-election, joining several federal government ministers who aren’t planning to run again in the next election.
Tassi, member of parliament for Hamilton West-Ancaster-Dundas and minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, posted a letter on X on Friday announcing her decision and thanking many people who helped and supported her.
“After [nine] great years of serving the people of Hamilton, I have decided that I will not be running in the next federal election,” stated the three-page letter typed on House of Commons letterhead. “My reason for making this decision is deeply personal. It’s time for me to be closer to home with my family.”
The announcement comes a day after Sean Casey, a Liberal backbencher from Prince Edward Island, called on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to resign. According to her statement, Tassi still supports the PM.
“I believed in him in 2015 and I believe in him now,” it states.
Tassi also praised how engaged people in Hamilton are and implied she isn’t leaving to run for another political office.
“It’s been the honour of my life to serve Hamiltonians and Canadians,” she wrote. “I look forward to finding new ways of serving, as my political journey nears its end.”
At least 24 Liberals won’t seek re-election
The news of Tassi’s departure came the same day that Radio-Canada learned three other Liberal ministers won’t run again. Marie-Claude Bibeau (National Revenue), Carla Qualtrough (Sports) and Dan Vandal (Northern Affairs) have also informed the PM they won’t be running in the next federal election. All four, including Tassi, were elected in 2015, an election that brought the Liberals into power with a majority government and made Trudeau the PM.
Sources told Radio-Canada that a cabinet reshuffle is expected in the coming weeks to remove those ministers, saying it will likely come after the United States’ presidential election Nov. 5.
That makes six ministers who have announced they won’t stand for re-election since the start of the summer. Seamus O’Regan and Pablo Rodriguez previously announced they won’t run.
According to Radio-Canada’s count, 24 elected members of the Liberal caucus don’t intend to seek re-election. That’s not counting the seven MPs who have resigned since the last election, including former ministers Marc Garneau, David Lametti and Carolyn Bennett.