MP Laurie Hawn announces he's leaving federal politics
Conservative Edmonton Centre MP will serve out his term to October 2015
Conservative Edmonton MP Laurie Hawn is leaving federal politics, saying he wants to spend more time with his family.
Hawn, 66, announced Monday he won't run in the next federal election.
"My wife, Judy, and I will have been working for a century between us, and she will have taken a back seat to my careers for 47 years," he said in a release Monday. "It is time that I put her and our family in the front seat."
Hawn has represented the Edmonton Centre riding since 2006 after losing his first campaign in 2004 by a few hundred votes to then deputy prime minister Anne McLellan.
He parlayed his 30-year background as an air force pilot to serve in a number of roles in Ottawa, including involvements with the ministries of National Defence, Veterans Affairs, Public Safety and National Security.
Hawn also led the government side on the special parliamentary committee on the mission in Afghanistan and the ad hoc committee on Taliban detainees and as the Canadian co-chair of the Canada-U.S. Permanent Joint Board on Defence worked on issues relating to the defence and security of North America.
He cited his involvement with the Canadian Armed Forces and many visits to Afghanistan, including spending five Christmases with the troops, as highlights of his time in parliament.
Hawn will serve out the remainder of his term.