Michael Levitt, a Liberal MP who represents the Toronto riding of York Centre, has announced he will be resigning on Sept. 1 in order to become the president and CEO of Canadian Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center.
Levitt made the announcement on social media Tuesday afternoon.
“Whether in Ottawa or back in York Centre, I have always committed myself to being available day and night for my constituents. Especially through these unprecedented last five months, I’ve also gained a clearer sense of the impact this has had on my family over the past five years,” he wrote.
READ MORE: 2019 election results for York Centre
“It hasn’t been without consequence to those I love most, and while it is an incredible privilege to serve the people of York Centre, I know deep down that now is the time for me to put family first and come back home both physically and mentally.”
Levitt said his new position with the centre will allowing him to keep working on “fighting anti-Semitism and promoting human rights, including bringing a renewed focus to the issue of systemic racism in Canada.”
News of the resignation comes less than 10 months after he was re-elected for a second term as the MP for York Centre.
Levitt was first elected during the 2015 election. He most recently served as the chair of the House of Commons standing committee on foreign affairs and international development.