WHATFG
Well-Known Member
Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird will not seek re-election and will resign his position in the Harper cabinet this week, a source has told Postmedia News.
Baird, 45, was first elected to Parliament in 2006, representing Ottawa West-Nepean, and re-elected in 2008 and 2011. He is expected to resign as soon as Tuesday.
Baird is not leaving for any particular job, but has decided the time is right for him to move to the private sector, a friend said Monday.
“He’s at the perfect age and in the perfect place to make a move,” said his friend, speaking on condition that he not be named.
He’s had 10 portfolios, which is a lot by Canadian standards, so I think he just felt like personally for him it was time to go
“He took a look at the calendar and … if he left now, I think people just do their walk in the snow. I think what’s precipitated it is he’s been doing it for 20 years.”
This is a personal decision and has nothing to do with Baird’s assessment of the electoral prospects of Harper’s government, his friend said.
He doesn’t have a particular job lined up, but it is likely to look at private sector opportunities, perhaps in Toronto.
“He has spent his entire life as an elected official or a political staffer and at this point in his life, in his mid- to late-40s, now is the time for him to build another career,” his friend said. “He’s had 10 portfolios, which is a lot by Canadian standards, so I think he just felt like personally for him it was time to go.”
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean KilpatrickPrime Minister Stephen Harper and Minister of Foreign Affairs John Baird arrive at the Security Council at the United Nations in New York on Sept. 24, 2014.
Before being appointed foreign affairs minister in May 2011, Baird held a variety of high-profile roles in Stephen Harper’s Conservative government.
His first cabinet role was as President of the Treasury Board from February 2006 until January 2007, when he became environment minister. In October 2008, he became minister of transport, a role he had until August 2010 when he became Government House Leader.
Baird has also served as the member of Parliament responsible for the national capital region, including the National Capital Commission.
He entered federal office after more than a decade as the Ontario member of provincial parliament for Nepean-Carleton, serving in former premier Mike Harris’s cabinet.
Baird, 45, was first elected to Parliament in 2006, representing Ottawa West-Nepean, and re-elected in 2008 and 2011. He is expected to resign as soon as Tuesday.
Baird is not leaving for any particular job, but has decided the time is right for him to move to the private sector, a friend said Monday.
“He’s at the perfect age and in the perfect place to make a move,” said his friend, speaking on condition that he not be named.
He’s had 10 portfolios, which is a lot by Canadian standards, so I think he just felt like personally for him it was time to go
“He took a look at the calendar and … if he left now, I think people just do their walk in the snow. I think what’s precipitated it is he’s been doing it for 20 years.”
This is a personal decision and has nothing to do with Baird’s assessment of the electoral prospects of Harper’s government, his friend said.
He doesn’t have a particular job lined up, but it is likely to look at private sector opportunities, perhaps in Toronto.
“He has spent his entire life as an elected official or a political staffer and at this point in his life, in his mid- to late-40s, now is the time for him to build another career,” his friend said. “He’s had 10 portfolios, which is a lot by Canadian standards, so I think he just felt like personally for him it was time to go.”
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean KilpatrickPrime Minister Stephen Harper and Minister of Foreign Affairs John Baird arrive at the Security Council at the United Nations in New York on Sept. 24, 2014.
Before being appointed foreign affairs minister in May 2011, Baird held a variety of high-profile roles in Stephen Harper’s Conservative government.
His first cabinet role was as President of the Treasury Board from February 2006 until January 2007, when he became environment minister. In October 2008, he became minister of transport, a role he had until August 2010 when he became Government House Leader.
Baird has also served as the member of Parliament responsible for the national capital region, including the National Capital Commission.
He entered federal office after more than a decade as the Ontario member of provincial parliament for Nepean-Carleton, serving in former premier Mike Harris’s cabinet.
