Glengarry-Prescott-Russell Member of Parliament (MP) Francis Drouin will not be seeking reelection in the next federal election, whenever it is held.
Drouin, 40, who has represented the district in the House of Commons since 2015, made it official on Thursday, July 25.
The Liberal MP, who has won three elections, said 95 per cent of his reason for not seeking reelection is family. He said he told his wife nine years ago that he would spend eight to 12 years in politics before seeking other opportunities. The couple also have a five-year-old son. Drouin, using a hockey metaphor, said the time had simply arrived to leave the political arena.
“You’ve got to understand when to get on the ice and when to get off the ice,” he said.
Drouin formally notified Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on March 21, 2024, that he would not be seeking reelection, but only decided to make it public recently.
The next federal election is not scheduled until 2025, but the governing Liberals under Trudeau do not have a majority of seats in the House of Commons and rely on the New Democratic Party (NDP) to help get important legislation adopted. If that agreement ends, an election could take place much sooner.
The Liberal government is currently very unpopular. Averages of weekly opinion polls consistently show the Liberals at least 18 points behind the Conservatives, led by Pierre Poilievre.
Drouin said his decision to not run again has nothing to do with the trend in public opinion. However, he did say the Conservative Leader has done a good job at making the Prime Minister unpopular.
“Pierre Poilievre has done an extremely good job at pointing everything at Justin Trudeau,” Drouin said.
Drouin said the Liberal Party does need to do some thinking.
“The team needs to shape things up. They need to realize it’s been nine years,” he remarked.
One of the reasons the Liberal government is so unpopular is the carbon tax. The Conservatives are proposing to eliminate the tax if they are elected. Drouin said the effects of not having a price on pollution need to be examined.
“We have to have an adult conversation about where to take this country,” he said.
Trudeau has faced repeated calls to resign, including from current and former members of his caucus and cabinet. Drouin said a change in leadership will not necessarily be the answer.
“Changing the leader of the party is not an automatic solution,” Drouin said.
People and issues in the constituency have always been the focus for Drouin.
“My philosophy is always helping people,” he said.
That includes addressing and resolving cases for constituents, with the help of his office staff.
Drouin is particularly proud of helping municipalities secure federal funding for infrastructure projects. As an example, he mentioned the 2019 project to install a municipal water system in Maxville.
Disagreeing with his own government is something Drouin has not been afraid to do.
“I stood up against my government when I disagreed with them,” he said.
Two examples of that are applying the carbon tax to grain drying and allowing imports of certain dairy products.
Drouin said he has also learned tremendously from people in the agricultural community and has gained a better understanding of their industries and lifestyles through listening to them.
“It helped me grow in politics,” he said.
Drouin said that because of its bilingual characteristics, Glengarry-Prescott-Russell serves as a way of bridging English and French dialogue for agricultural communities in Ontario and Quebec.
Drouin is currently the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, Lawrence MacAulay.
Currently, Drouin has no firm plans about his next career move. He said that whatever his future plans are, they will allow him to spend more time with his family.
For the next federal election, Glengarry-Prescott-Russell has been redistributed into the new district of Prescott-Russell-Cumberland. North Glengarry will become part of the new district of Stormont-Dundas-Glengarry.
