Former mayor Glen Murray moving back to Winnipeg

One of Winnipeg’s former mayors is moving back to the city after a stint in Ontario as an MPP.

Glen Murray announced Wednesday he is moving back to Winnipeg, joining a private IT firm.

“The secret is out of the bag now,” he told 680CJOB host Richard Cloutier.

“I’ve been homesick … my life is so attached to this city.”

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Murray is joining the team at Emerge Knowledge Design, located in the Exchange District, a company that sells software to help governments track recycling and recovering resources.

Murray was mayor of Winnipeg from 1998 to 2004, when he resigned to run for the federal Liberal Party in the riding of Charleswood-St. James. He subsequently lost to Conservative candidate Steven Fletcher.

He then moved to Toronto and gained a seat in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as a Liberal MPP for Toronto Centre until 2017. During part of this time, he served as Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure.

Murray resigned as an MPP in 2017 to take a job with Calgary’s Pembina Institute as its new executive director. He resigned earlier this month after a one-year stint with the think-tank.

Asked if he’d ever consider going back to politics, he replied with a resounding ‘no’.

“I have no desire to go back to it,” he said. “I think I’ve done my public service.”

That doesn’t mean Winnipeggers won’t hear from him.

“I think Winnipeg benefits from an active citizenry and I plan to be a very active citizen. I won’t be shy from expressing opinions.”

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Murray oversaw several changes in Winnipeg, including the skyline. He championed the establishment of Thunderbird House, was mayor during the Pan Am Games in 1999, and led proposals with other cities to renegotiate how municipal governments receive funding, called the “New Deal.”

WATCH: Glen Murray talks subways in Scarborough

He also championed building the Canadian Museum for Human Rights and spearheaded the Esplanade Riel project, both controversial builds that significantly changed the city’s skyline.

Murray was in Winnipeg Wednesday, where he championed opening Portage and Main and spoke at the Liveable Cities Conference.