After 24 years of service, longtime politician Geoffrey Kelley has announced he will not seek re-election this fall.
He is the eighth member of Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard‘s cabinet to announce he’s bowing out of politics after this mandate.
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Kelley, 63, has been a Liberal member of the legislature since 1994 and native affairs minister since 2014.
“I love what I do, but it is going out on Saturday and Sunday to community events. It is going to Quebec City 40 times a year,” he said.
“I just decided that maybe there isn’t enough gas in the tank to do another four years, so I decided to stop.”
He also oversaw the same portfolio in previous mandates.
WATCH BELOW: What drew Geoffrey Kelley to politics?
While Kelley said he’s proud of his record in his Jacques-Cartier riding, his work with Quebec’s Indigenous communities is what he sees as his biggest accomplishment.
“Some of the things that we’ve done in terms of improving different services for indigenous students is something that’s important,” he said.
Kelley’s son eyes nomination
With the countdown on until the provincial election, a growing number of Quebec Liberals have said they will not seek re-election.
Kelley joins fellow ministers Laurent Lessard, Robert Poëti, Tourism Minister Julie Boulet, Public Security Minister Martin Coiteux, Justice Minister Stephanie Vallée, Jean-Marc Fournier and Immigration Minister David Heurtel in deciding to pack it in.
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Nine Liberal backbenchers have also said they won’t run again in the campaign leading to the Oct. 1 election.
One of the candidates eyeing the Liberal nomination of the Jacques-Cartier riding is Kelley’s son, Gregory.
With regards to his son, Kelley said the final decision will be left to the Liberals.
“This is something I will leave to the party and I will leave to the premier.”
—with files from Global’s Tim Sargeant and the Canadian Press