Former Liberal cabinet minister Rich Coleman says he won’t run for re-election in 2021 and intends to retire from politics.
The MLA for Langley East made the announcement Saturday.
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Coleman was first elected in 1996 and went on to hold various cabinet roles, including minister of housing, energy and mines, and public safety as well as solicitor general.
Coleman said he looks forward to no longer hearing the question: “So are you going to run again?” He said he remains fully committed to his constituents for the remainder of his sixth term as MLA but wanted to give the Liberals the opportunity to make plans for the riding ahead of the next election.
“Nobody asked me, nobody pushed me,” he said in an interview. “I spent five years in opposition and 16 years in government, then I did the interim leader thing when Christy [Clark, the former premier] left to sort of rebuild this thing. You have a new leader in Andrew [Wilkinson] and he’s doing a good job, and I thought, well, you know, I can’t see myself running for a seventh term.”
Coleman, 66, said he will eventually seek a new line of work. His focus, for now, remains on government, his health and his family, including seven grandchildren and a grand-niece.
He said it was tough reaching his decision, but making it public on Saturday left him feeling relieved after 24 years in B.C. government and politics.
“It’s such a privilege,” Coleman said.
“I’ve met so many wonderful people. I’ve been gifted with a great riding and people to work with. Public life can be a strain — especially today, with the social- media piece, if you pay attention to it. But on the other side, it’s very rewarding.”
Coleman served as deputy premier from 2012 to 2017 and was the B.C. Liberal interim leader during the party’s last leadership contest. Before his entry into politics, Coleman ran a real estate management and consulting company, and was an RCMP member and security specialist.
He decided to make the announcement on Feb. 29 to coincide with the anniversary of his first nomination on the same date in 1996, he said.
The announcement comes five days after the beginning of inquiry hearings led by commissioner Austin Cullen into money laundering.
Reports commissioned by the NDP have indicated money laundering worsened under the B.C. Liberals’ watch between 2009 and 2015.
Last week, Attorney General David Eby said former Liberal cabinet ministers should be called to the witness stand, including Coleman, former finance minister Mike de Jong and former premier Christy Clark.
Coleman said he believes the inquiry is important. “I am totally comfortable with the inquiry — I said it at the very beginning — because it will help us point to how we’ll get better in the future,” he said. “It will find how we truly have to work at it, as we learned about it, but it’ll also find out that people acted with integrity.”
In a statement, B.C. Liberals Leader Andrew Wilkinson thanked Coleman for his many years in provincial politics.
“Among many achievements as a cabinet minister, he oversaw the delivery of a record number of new housing units for vulnerable British Columbians, stickhandled the softwood lumber file through challenging times and laid the foundation for an LNG industry that will support British Columbia’s prosperity for generations to come — helping to improve the lives of people all over B.C.,” Wilkinson said.
“Nearly a quarter-century in public life requires significant personal sacrifices. In addition to recognizing Rich for his years of service to the people of Fort Langley- Aldergrove, Langley East, and all of British Columbia, we thank his wife Michele, and their children and grandchildren, for generously sharing Rich with our team.”
FREDERICTON – A look at David Coon, leader of the Green Party of New Brunswick:
Born: Oct. 28, 1956.
Early years: Born in Toronto and raised in Montreal, he spent about three decades as an environmental advocate.
Education: A trained biologist, he graduated with a bachelor of science from McGill University in Montreal in 1978.
Family: He and his wife Janice Harvey have two daughters, Caroline and Laura.
Before politics: Worked as an environmental educator, organizer, activist and manager for 33 years, mainly with the Conservation Council of New Brunswick.
Politics: Joined the Green Party of Canada in May 2006 and was elected leader of the New Brunswick Green Party in September 2012. Won a seat in the legislature in 2014 — a first for the province’s Greens.
Quote: “It was despicable. He’s clearly decided to take the low road in this campaign, to adopt some Trump-lite fearmongering.” — David Coon on Sept. 12, 2024, reacting to Blaine Higgs’s claim that the federal government had decided to send 4,600 asylum seekers to New Brunswick.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
FREDERICTON – A look at Blaine Higgs, leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick.
Born: March 1, 1954.
Early years: The son of a customs officer, he grew up in Forest City, N.B., near the Canada-U.S. border.
Education: Graduated from the University of New Brunswick with a degree in mechanical engineering in 1977.
Family: Married his high-school sweetheart, Marcia, and settled in Saint John, N.B., where they had four daughters: Lindsey, Laura, Sarah and Rachel.
Before politics: Hired by Irving Oil a week after he graduated from university and was eventually promoted to director of distribution. Worked for 33 years at the company.
Politics: Elected to the legislature in 2010 and later served as finance minister under former Progressive Conservative Premier David Alward. Elected Tory leader in 2016 and has been premier since 2018.
Quote: “I’ve always felt parents should play the main role in raising children. No one is denying gender diversity is real. But we need to figure out how to manage it.” — Blaine Higgs in a year-end interview in 2023, explaining changes to school policies about gender identity.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
OTTAWA – The pressing issues of climate change and food security join more familiar ones like violent extremism and espionage on a new list of Canada’s intelligence priorities.
The federal government says publishing the list of priorities for the first time is an important step toward greater transparency.
The government revises the priorities every two years, based on recommendations from the national security adviser and the intelligence community.
Once the priorities are reviewed and approved by the federal cabinet, key ministers issue directives to federal agencies that produce intelligence.
Among the priorities are the security of global health, food, water and biodiversity, as well as the issues of climate change and global sustainability.
The new list also includes foreign interference and malign influence, cyberthreats, infrastructure security, Arctic sovereignty, border integrity and transnational organized crime.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
