Denis Paradis, the Liberal MP for the Brome-Missisquoi riding, announced on Sunday he will retire from politics.
Paradis, 70, made the announcement on his Facebook page.
In a statement, he said “the time has come to turn the page.”
Paradis said that while voters had asked him to run again in October he had come to the conclusion the time had come to “make way for others.”
“This political life wouldn’t have been the same if I hadn’t been able to work with extraordinary people dedicated to serving the public in all political parties,” he said.
Paradis was elected MP for Brome-Missiquoi in a 1995 by-election and was re-elected in 1997, 2000 and 2004 before being defeated in 2006, 2008 and 2011. He retook the riding in 2015 by a margin of more than 11,000 votes.
He was named Minister for Latina America, Africa and La Francophonie, a position he held from 2002 to 2003 and Minister for Financial Institutions from 2003 to 2004.
Paradis is the brother of former MNA Pierre Paradis.
