WINNIPEG – A Manitoba Conservative MP and anti-abortion advocate says he won’t be asking voters to send him back to Ottawa but he hasn’t ruled out running provincially.
Rod Bruinooge, who represents Winnipeg South, announced Wednesday that he plans to leave federal politics this fall to spend more time with his two young children.
He said the loss of a close family member over the Christmas holidays led to his decision to spend more time at home.
“It has reminded me how precious each moment is with my kids,” he said in a statement.
“I have told my children today that come October, I will no longer be an MP and will be spending all of my time with them. They were very excited.”
More than 20 Conservative MPs have announced they won’t be running in the federal election set for October. A handful of Liberals and NDP incumbents have also announced their retirements.
Bruinooge has held the riding since 2006 when he defeated Liberal stalwart Reg Alcock by just over 100 votes. He increased his margin of victory in subsequent elections and won the riding in 2011 with 52 per cent of the vote.
He was chairman of a parliamentary caucus that sought to rekindle the abortion debate and bring “more value” to the lives of unborn children.
Although Prime Minister Stephen Harper has consistently said he isn’t interested in reopening the abortion debate, Bruinooge has said that few Canadians appreciate that an unborn child has “less value than a kidney.”
He also spoke out shortly after abortion provider Henry Morgentaler was awarded the Order of Canada in 2008, calling it “reprehensible.”
Bruinooge did not respond to an interview request. But he told Winnipeg radio station CJOB that he hasn’t ruled out running for the Manitoba Progressive Conservatives.
“I’m not going to say either way which decision I might be making in the future,” Bruinooge said.
“I’m a Conservative and I will continue to be representing the right of the right, the social conservatives … I’m not going to discount being involved in politics here at a local level at some point.”
Manitoba’s PC Leader, Brian Pallister, is “supportive of my decision to spend more time with my family,” he said.
Manitoba has a fixed election date in April 2016 but the NDP government is free to call one at any time.
Bruinooge said he doesn’t know who will run federally in Winnipeg South for the Conservatives, but is confident the seat is a “solid Conservative riding.”
The Liberals have already nominated Terry Duguid to carry their banner in the riding. Duguid ran unsuccessfully against Bruinooge in the 2011 election.
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