Mr O’Toole made the official announcement during a speech at the Chamber of Commerce in Clarington, near Oshawa, on Friday morning.

In a statement released by her office on Twitter shortly afterwards, Erin O’Toole commended the citizens of the Durham constituency for the unconditional support they have shown to him since his election in 2012.

I’ve had the opportunity to advance issues that I believe are critical to our country – from veterans’ mental health to military readiness, nuclear energy, world sovereignty, the Arctic and a number of other important issuesunderscored Erin O’Toole in the press release.

I will continue to advance these interests and serve my constituents until the end of this session.he also promised.

” I will leave public life satisfied, knowing that my efforts and ideas will reverberate for years to come. »

A graduate of the Royal Military College of Canada and a barrister by training, Erin O’Toole became Conservative MP for Durham in November 2012, replacing the resigning Minister Bev Oda.

Erin O’Toole was appointed Minister for Veterans Affairs in Stephen Harper’s government and became leader of the Conservative Party and leader of the official opposition in August 2020, winning party leadership from Peter MacKay.

ousted from the party leadership

After losing the October 2021 federal election, the Conservatives, who failed to win additional seats in the House of Commons against Justin Trudeau’s Liberals, are beginning to doubt that Erin O’Toole is the leader who will usher them into government.

Even the more conservative fringes of the party did not appreciate the ideological shift Erin O’Toole brought about by showing more flexible campaigning on issues such as climate change, abortion or LGBTQ recognition.

The Conservative leader will be finally overthrown in a confidence vote within the faction on February 2, 2022, at the end of which he has the support of just 45 MPs, 73 of whom voted against him.

Despite the loss, Erin O’Toole remained MP for his constituency.