By Canadian Press

Liberal MPs Adam Vaughan, Will Amos, Karen McCrimmon won’t run for re-election

Aug 9, 2021 | 10:43 AM

OTTAWA — Liberal MPs Adam Vaughan, Will Amos and Karen McCrimmon say they will not run in the next federal election.

In an interview with The Canadian Press, Vaughan says he decided not to seek re-election in his Toronto riding after spending 15 years in politics to spend more time with his family after he turned 60. 

The Spadina-Fort York MP says he made the “tough decision” after reflecting on the work he will have to do to achieve progress on files including the national housing strategy, and he found that he cannot do that at “half speed.”

In a post on her Twitter account, Ottawa MP McCrimmon says she will not seek re-election in Kanata-Carleton due to “health challenges” that require her attention, noting that she was not forced to take this step.

Amos, who has represented the Quebec riding of Pontiac since 2015, also says in a post on social media that he will not be running after discussing his options with his family.

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Last month, Amos’s office said he is pursuing a “wellness program” after twice exposing himself during virtual proceedings in the House of Commons, incidents he described as accidental.

In May, Amos was caught on camera urinating — which was broadcast on an internal parliamentary video feed of Commons proceedings but not seen publicly — after he appeared naked in April during similar virtual proceedings, which he said occurred as he changed clothes after taking a jog.

Amos won the 2019 election in Pontiac with almost 47 per cent of the votes. The Bloc Québécois came second with 17.6 per cent, and the Conservative candidate came third with 17.5 per cent.

The Liberal party has not announced a candidate to replace McCrimmon in her Ottawa riding as Conservative candidate Jennifer McAndrew has already started canvassing with her team to win back the seat her party lost to the Liberals in 2015.

As for Vaughan, he says the intensity of being an MP has taken a toll on him especially with a “disappointing” political culture where, sometimes, he says the priority has become shaming people rather than explaining policies. 

Vaughan has represented Spadina-Fort York in downtown Toronto since he was first elected in a 2014 byelection. He was a Toronto city councillor for the Trinity-Spadina area between 2006 and 2014.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 9, 2021.

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This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Facebook and Canadian Press News Fellowship.

The Canadian Press