Shomporko Online News Desk: Catherine McKenna, Minister of Infrastructure, says she made a “tough” decision not to seek re-election in the federal election, and that while she expects to use the summer to consider her next steps, she will continue to work to combat climate change.
McKenna spoke with reporters along the Rideau Canal promenade in downtown Ottawa, which is part of the Ottawa Centre federal riding she gained in 2015 from the NDP.
She shot down rumors that she was considering a bid for mayor of Ottawa, claiming her decision was based on her reflections during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It was a difficult decision but it’s the right one for me and my family, and it’s the right time to make it,” she said. “Like many Canadians, living through COVID-19 over a very long year made me step back and reflect on what matters to me most. It was quite simple, two things: my kids and climate change.”
McKenna was also asked about speculation that her decision could be part of a bid to get former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney to run for the Liberals in a possible upcoming election.
She said that was not part of her decision, but added she thinks Carney would be good in politics.
“I’ve been telling him for years he should get into politics,” she said, raising the oft-repeated Liberal refrain that the economy and environment “go hand in hand.”
“I have a good friend named Mark Carney. I believe he has the potential to make a significant difference.”
Ottawa Centre is great political real estate, and while it is not a typically safe Liberal riding, it is one where McKenna was successful in wresting it from the NDP in 2015 and holding it with nearly 50% of the vote in 2019.
The riding, which includes Parliament Hill and central Ottawa, is home to a high number of federal government employees as well as students from three local institutions.
Carney has not said whether he will run, but he promised in April, during the Liberal Party’s virtual convention, that he would do everything he could to help the party.
Source_ the Canadian Press
