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    • 'We had a good run': High-profile Liberal minister quitting cabinet, not running in next election

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    Labour Minister Seamus O'Regan has announced he will not run in the next federal election, and will be quitting his cabinet position Friday.

    O’Regan made the announcement in a social media post Thursday, after CTV News reported the high-profile, longtime Liberal is leaving politics for personal reasons.

    “It never seems to be the right time,†O’Regan said in an interview on CTV News Channel. “There's always something happening, there's a lot of news, there's a lot going on these days, but eventually, at some point, (my husband and I) had to make this decision, and we felt that this was the right time.â€

    O’Regan intends to stay on as an MP until the next election.

    “These were difficult decisions. Being chosen as MP in three elections over nine years by the people of this riding has been a great honour,†he wrote.

    “But, ultimately, my family comes first,†he added. “I need to be a better husband, son, uncle, and friend, and this job means, and deserves, a lot of time in order to do it well.â€

    O’Regan informed the prime minister of his decision to step away from politics on Canada Day, sources tell CTV News.

    “Regardless of which side you're on, we need good people in politics,†O’Regan told CTV News Channel. “I felt that we had a good run at it. For me and for my husband, we had a good run for nine years.â€

    According to a statement from the Prime Minister's Office, O’Regan’s replacement will be sworn in at Rideau Hall on Friday.

    As reported by CTV News on Wednesday, cabinet is also set to meet Friday morning.

    “I’ll miss working with this Prime Minister,†O’Regan wrote. “I believe he’ll be regarded as one of the most consequential and important leaders in our country’s history. His strength, endurance and vision are unmatched, and they will see us through the next election.â€

    The announcement comes amid the federal Liberals’ sustained slumping in public opinion polls, and as speculation grows about a potential cabinet shuffle this summer.

    O’Regan — a longtime close friend of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau who was also a member of his wedding party in 2005 — was first elected to the House of Commons in 2015, and he was re-elected in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections.

    “My friend Seamus has been a pragmatic voice and a relentless advocate around the Cabinet table,†Trudeau wrote in a social media post Thursday. “But to do that work well, you have to sacrifice a lot, and ask so much of your family.â€

    “I respect his decision whole-heartedly,†Trudeau added.

    Trudeau brought O’Regan into cabinet in 2017 to serve as minister of veterans affairs. He went on to serve in several portfolios, including Indigenous services, natural resources, labour and seniors.

    Scott Reid, a CTV News political analyst and former communications director to former prime minister Paul Martin, said in an interview that O’Regan’s resignation is a “big disappointment.â€

    “Seamus O'Regan was one of the government's most effective communicators, one of the few cabinet ministers who can talk to people and sound like a real person, not sound like a government key message machine,†Reid said. “He's going to be sorely missed, and he's been effective in every portfolio that he’s served. A real star.â€

    Reid added that losing O’Regan — who represents the federal riding of St. John’s South-Mount Pearl — could be “really tough for the Liberals,†who are also consequently losing a foothold in Atlantic Canada.

    According to a new poll from Abacus Data, 61 per cent of Canadians say they would vote for a change in government in the next federal election.

    Taking into consideration poor polling numbers over the last year, Reid said, “O’Regan may not be the last†Liberal to call it quits and not to seek re-election.

    But O’Regan insisted to CTV News Channel that the Liberals shouldn’t be counted out yet.

    “I think the polls are the polls, and the polls are where they are right now,†he said, adding a lot can happen in a year, ahead of the next election, currently slated for October 2025.

    Trudeau — on his way out of the change of command ceremony for Canada’s chief of the defence staff — declined to answer when asked by CTV News’ Rachel Hanes what it says about the state of his cabinet that O’Regan is stepping away, and whether he plans to replace the labour minister with former Bank of Canada governor and much-speculated leadership contender Mark Carney.

    In a social media post, U.S. Ambassador to Canada David Cohen congratulated O’Regan on his decision to step away from politics, and quipped the two should “catch up soon in Newfoundland during normal business hours—rather than on 3am phone calls in the middle of negotiations!â€

    “I extend my congratulations and heartfelt gratitude to my friend Seamus O’Regan for his effective and compassionate leadership of the Prime Minister’s labour mandate,†Cohen wrote.

    “He has been a fair and firm steward of countless collective bargaining disputes and has helped facilitate successful bargaining results that have avoided supply chain disruptions,†he added.

    National Defence Minister Bill Blair also commented on the news Tuesday, telling reporters O’Regan is a “remarkable member of our government,†and adding he hadn’t yet heard directly from O’Regan about his decision to step down.

    “I've always much valued his advice and support on all the important work that I've attempted to undertake,†Blair said.

    With files from CTV News’ Brennan MacDonald and Stephanie Ha

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