Update, as of Saturday morning: Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay is planning to formally announce his plan to retire from federal politics on Saturday afternoon. He will not be seeking the nomination in the riding of Cardigan, which he has held since 1988.
Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay is planning to make a “major announcement” at a community centre in his hometown in Prince Edward Island on Saturday.
The longest-serving Liberal in the House of Commons, MacAulay was first elected as a Member of Parliament in 1988.
The question of whether MacAulay, who turns 79 in September, intends to run for a 12th consecutive win in his riding of Cardigan has been raised repeatedly over the past year, as a growing list of his cabinet colleagues have announced they will not be seeking re-election in 2025.
“Lawrence is always ready to run. No indication that he won’t run,” was the reply to an inquiry to the Cardigan Liberal riding association earlier this month, asking whether MacAulay had signaled whether he was running again.
According to a copy of an invitation forwarded to RealAgriculture, guests are invited to join MacAulay for a “major announcement” at 2pm on Saturday, March 1 at a community complex in St. Peter’s Bay, PEI, with refreshments to follow.
Unlike an official government or political party notice, the invitation is written in italicized font on a plain white paper and makes no references to the Government of Canada, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, or the Liberal Party of Canada.
As of late Thursday, MacAulay’s office has not responded to inquiries about the nature of the announcement, and whether he is running again.
MacAulay was in Washington, DC earlier this week to speak about the value of Canada-U.S. trade at a National Association of State Departments of Agriculture conference and meet with several U.S. congressional members and state secretaries of agriculture. His office sought but was unable to arrange a meeting with new U.S. Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins.
He is currently in his second stint as Canada’s ag minister. He was reappointed to the post in 2023 after serving in the role from 2015 through early 2019.
Related:
Ag Minister MacAulay visits DC ahead of tariff deadline
Ag Minister MacAulay “always preparing for the next election,” but will it be as a candidate?
