Calgary-Varsity MLA Stephanie McLean announced Thursday she will not be seeking re-election.
In a statement on Twitter, McLean, who is also the Alberta government’s minister for the status of women, said she was leaving politics to focus on her law career.
“At the same time, my life’s ambition has been the law. As a young lawyer, I am eager to pursue my practice.”
McLean touched on a couple of highlights from her political career in her statement, including the province’s sexual violence strategy she played a part in shaping.
“I am particularly grateful to have worked on protecting vulnerable Albertans from predatory lending practices and implementing a first-of-its-kind strategy to combat sexual violence,” she said.
The NDP MLA also commented on the significance of having her first baby while in office.
McLean’s pregnancy and the birth of her child led to the eventual reexamination of the Alberta Legislature’s leave policy, which didn’t exist in the early months of McLean and her fellow MLA Brandy Payne’s pregnancies.
“The government’s commitment to women’s equality and to breaking down barriers that have kept women from politics is a major and long-overdue step forward for our province,” she said.
Payne announced in March she also would not be running for re-election, saying family priorities influenced her decision.
Following the provincial government’s reform of its parental leave opportunities, the cities of Edmonton and Calgary also introduced parental leave policies.
McLean said while she isn’t running for re-election, she will still “work as hard as I can to see the province move forward with Rachel Notley and her team.”
McLean was elected as an NDP MLA in 2015.
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