Liberal MP Sean Fraser changes mind, will seek re-election
Former cabinet minister announced in December he would not run again
Liberal MP and former cabinet minister Sean Fraser is cancelling his plans to retire from politics and will announce today he will seek re-election in his Nova Scotia riding of Central Nova.
CBC News first reported the news Tuesday morning and Fraser later confirmed it in an interview.
"It's an opportunity to demonstrate to my kids that when there are important fights to have, good people need to stand up to bullies," he said, in reference to the current U.S. administration.
Fraser said he made the decision Monday after a phone call from Liberal Leader Mark Carney asking him to reconsider.
Fraser announced in December he wouldn't run again because of the strain the job placed on his family life. But sources say Carney reassured Fraser they would find a way to balance his workload with his family life.
Fraser said Carney assured him that if he stayed on he would be able to spend more time with his family.
"We probably spent half an hour on the phone discussing the assurances that we could create a family-friendly environment that would allow me to serve my community without compromising my ability to be a present husband and father," he said.
Fraser and Carney are expected to appear together at an event later today in Nova Scotia where the news will be officially announced.
Asked about the news in Halifax, Carney said Fraser is an "exceptional public servant."
"I and my colleagues have wanted Sean Fraser to come back and serve Canada at this crucial time. Sean stepping up for our country ... is exceptionally good news for Canada," he said.
Fraser stepped down from the federal cabinet in December when he announced he wouldn't run again. He was the federal housing minister until then, and immigration minister before that.
The Liberals nominated a candidate to run in Central Nova last week. The nominee, Graham Murray, was the only Nova Scotia Liberal candidate absent from Carney's appearance in Halifax on Tuesday.
Fraser is not the first high-profile Liberal to change their mind about running in the upcoming election. Cabinet minister Anita Anand had said she would not run again, but changed her mind last month.
New Brunswick MP Wayne Long and Ontario MP Helena Jaczek also said they would not run again, but then reversed course.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre seized on the news to reiterate his point that a Carney Liberal government would lead to more of the same, and criticized Fraser's record on the immigration and housing files.
"He helped contribute to creating this crisis in the first place. And now Mark Carney and the Liberals say that he should be back," Poilievre told reporters in Vaughan, Ont.
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With files from Taryn Grant and Tom Murphy