Northern B.C. MP Jay Hill ended his 22-year-old political career earlier than expected on Monday and announced he will resign his House of Commons seat on Oct. 25.
The 57-year-old Conservative politician declared he would not run for re-election last July and in August handed the position of Government House Leader to John Baird.
But on Monday he said will be leaving the Commons in three weeks, possibly triggering a federal byelection in the Prince George-Peace River riding as soon as Dec. 13.
"Everything has a certain life span," Hill told CTV. "I was trying to make a decision on what was best for the riding once I made the decision to move on with my life."
Hill told CTV he'd been thinking about the move for "quite some time" but the uncertainty surrounding the current minority Parliament made it difficult to plan a transition. He said he chose Oct. 25 because it coincided with the 17th anniversary of his election to the Prince George-Peace River seat in 1993 ("a little bit of nostalgia," said Hill); he would go on win five more elections under the banners of the Reform Party, the Canadian Alliance, and the Conservatives.
He lost his first attempt at the seat in 1988.
The number of different parties Hill has run under mirrors the fractured political right wing the MP dwelt in for much of his career. In 2000, he was one of a group of MPs who left the Canadian Alliance and joined the Progressive Conservatives to protest the leadership of Stockwell Day.
On Monday he told CTV that the highlight of his political career was uniting of credible right-wing party under Stephen Harper and Harper's subsequent election as prime minister in Feb. 2006.
"It was under the leadership of Stephen Harper we were able to put together a viable, credible alternative for the Canadian public," said Hill. "Our system of government necessitates a strong Opposition. Stephen Harper was able to do that, to put Humpty Dumpty together again."
The Globe and Mail's Gloria Galloway said Hill is known for "his smarts and his sense of humour but also his toughness and loyalty to the Conservative Party." Harper tapped those attributes in naming Hill both chief government whip and House leader during his term.
In opposition, he also held critic porfolios ranging from justice, agriculture and national defence.
Transport Minister Chuck Strahl, another B.C. Tory who entered the Commons in 1993, told the Canadian Press the early Hill as a rough diamond.
"He was Jay of the North, a no-nonsense guy who knew what he knew. A leader is what he's become. It was a big shift for a crusty old roughneck from the oilpatch."
According to CP, he is a former forestry and oilfield worker who, with his brother, later took over and ran the family farm in northeastern B.C.
On exiting the House, he paid tribute to his wife Leah, and his three children, Holly, Heather and Heath. Much of his family lives in Calgary and he said he plans on moving there to be closer to them.
Hill's resignation will prompt the Speaker of the House to deliver a warrant to the chief electoral officer of Canada saying the seat is vacant. Upon receiving the warrant, according to Elections Canada, "at least 11 days and no more than 180 days must pass ... before a by-election is called."
That means, if Hill resigns on Oct. 25, the earliest a by-election can be called is Nov. 3 and the latest is April 25
The date of the byelection must be 36 days after it is declared and it must be held on a Monday, which if a by-election is called Nov. 3, it would be held Dec. 13.
Three candidates are currently vying for the Conservative nomination for Prince George-Peace River: Bob Zimmer, Dan Davies and Don Irwin, all of Fort St. John.
