Edmonton Centre MP Randy Boissonnault announces he won't run in upcoming election

Former cabinet minister Randy Boissonnault says he will not run again in the upcoming federal election.

The Liberal party had confirmed Boissonnault as a candidate in Edmonton Centre, a riding he won in 2015, lost in 2019, then reclaimed in 2021.

In a statement posted to X Friday, the former cabinet minister says the past year "has been an incredibly difficult one for me and my family."

Boissonnault resigned from cabinet in November amid controversy over his business dealings and skepticism about his claims of Indigenous identity.

Duane Bratt, a political science professor at Mount Royal University, said Boissonnault's recent time in office has been marred by scandal.

"He should have resigned from cabinet well before he did," Bratt said in an interview.

"So given how tight Edmonton Centre is, I think the party encouraged Randy Boissonnault not to run again. And maybe Randy Boissonnault thought, do I want to go through this again?"

Bratt said that in January — a time when Boissonnault was still enthusiastically running — Edmonton Centre was not a winnable riding for the Liberals. 

Now, it could be, Bratt said. 

Marcel Wieder, a Liberal strategist based in Toronto, said Boissonnault probably made the right decision.

WATCH | Liberal MP Randy Boissonault drops out of election race: 

Liberal MP Randy Boissonnault drops out of election race, leaving Edmonton Centre riding in question

8 days ago

Duration 2:18

A sudden withdrawal from the election race by embattled Liberal MP Randy Boissonnault mere hours before the anticipated writ drops has politicos speculating on who will replace him.

"That way it's not going to burden the party and it'll allow for a clean transition for whoever is the Liberal candidate in that riding," Wieder said in an interview.

Boissonnault's move had fuelled speculation about where Prime Minister Mark Carney would run, before he announced he would run in the Nepean riding in Ottawa.

Carney grew up in Edmonton and skated with his beloved Oilers hockey team on Thursday.

The NDP and Conservative party both have candidates in Edmonton Centre: Trisha Estabrooks and Sayid Ahmed, respectively.

Estabrooks told CBC in an interview that she's excited for her campaign, and thanked Boissonnault for his time in office. 

"I wish Randy all the best as he transitions into his life after politics," she said. 

Ahmed sent CBC a statement, saying the Liberal party has caused "chaos and division."

"Whoever the next Liberal candidate is, would be endorsing the damage the Trudeau Liberals have caused and supporting Carney's plan, which is even worse than Trudeau's," the statement reads, in part.