West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country MP Pam Goldsmith-Jones has announced she will not be running for re-election.
The 58-year-old first-term MP jumped to federal politics after a career in municipal politics that included two terms as mayor of West Vancouver.
As recently as early March, Goldsmith-Jones had confirmed to Coast Reporter that she was the Liberal Party of Canada’s candidate for the Oct. 21 federal election, but in a letter dated May 8 she said, “I have advised the Prime Minister and I am announcing today that I will not be running for re-election in 2019 as your member of Parliament.”
The letter, addressed to “friends and neighbours,” said it had been “a distinct honour” to serve as the riding’s MP and represent Canada on world issues.
“However, when I look forward to the next four years, I feel that I need to spend time closer to home, particularly with my parents. I will continue to serve as your member of Parliament until the next election, and I will remain as Minister Freeland's Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs.”
Goldsmith-Jones went on to say that she believes in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Liberal team.
“Going into the next election I will do all I can to help ensure we have an outstanding candidate and that the Liberal Party continues to have a strong voice in western Canada.”
Goldsmith-Jones categorically denied to Coast Reporter that her decision is related in any way to the internal issues within the Liberal party that have already seen fellow MPs Jody Wilson-Raybould, Jane Philpott and Celina Caesar-Chavannes either leave caucus or get expelled.
She said her situation is “markedly different” from those MPs.
“The prime minister specifically asked me that straight away,” Goldsmith-Jones said. “I continue to support him, I support our team, I’m looking forward to engaging with the riding association in recruiting a candidate and in helping them in the election. And of course, most importantly, I have five more months to continue to serve the community.”
Goldsmith-Jones said the decision announced Wednesday was very difficult and months in the making, and while she didn’t expand on the reasons given in her letter, she did mention the gruelling schedule MPs have to keep when the Commons is sitting five days a week, which means a 16-hour commute for B.C. MPs who return to their ridings on weekends, and the international travel that’s part of her parliamentary secretary duties.
“I am very committed to seeing the House of Commons sit four days a week, not five, as every legislature in western democracies does and every provincial legislature and territorial government in Canada. I will keep working on that. I think that would make better MPs, able to be in their ridings more, able to prioritize their families more equitably with their constituents.”
Goldsmith-Jones closes the letter with a roundup of accomplishments she credits to “engagement with the local communities,” including the recently announced Gibsons supportive housing and the Gibsons Public Market, “along with investment in water and wastewater projects in every community in the riding.”
According to Goldsmith-Jones, the riding association was informed of her decision on May 7, the day before she released her letter, and she said she’s not aware at this point of any potential new candidate waiting in the wings.
