Rachel Blaney will not seek reelection in 2025

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - After close to a decade as the Member of Parliament for North Island-Powell River, Rachel Blaney announced that she will not run in the next Federal Election.


“It was a very hard decision to make but, sadly, I have family issues that have come to the forefront. I recognize that time is precious and this is a long commute back and forth, so I'm happy to be able to continue until 2025 and stay till the next election . Going past that would have meant missing precious time with someone I love greatly, so I had to make a very hard and bittersweet decision,” she explained.

“I'm not gone yet. I know that I've had to make this announcement, but I'm still here and I'm going to still keep working as hard as I can. I stepped down as the whip in Ottawa, because I really wanted to make sure that for the remaining time that I have in parliament, I have more time for my loved ones. I also need to make sure I finish some of the things I really want to get done, both in my critic roles and in the riding.”


“If you need help, I'm still the office to call and I'm so grateful. People come to our office all the time for help, and we're able to help most of the time. That has been an amazing feeling for me, to hear people give us such positive feedback about helping them navigate the federal systems that are sometimes very difficult to navigate.”


Cortes Currents: I don't know who's going to be the next NDP candidate but they're not going to be as popular as you are right now. Do you have any thoughts on that?  


Rachel Blaney: “Well, thank-you for saying that I'm popular and I want to thank the constituency. Everywhere I go, people are so positive. What I prided myself on being able to do is be clear on the partisan issues that I believe in, but try to be practical about how those things roll out in our communities.” 


“Understand that we do have a unique riding, and it's been my pleasure to make sure that that voice is heard.  I will see what happens during the next election. I believe that a lot of people, and I hear this a lot, are feeling connected to the NDP in a new way. They see that we actually were able to deliver on the things we campaigned on. People have talked to me about how amazing it feels to finally be able to get dental care. I knew it would have a big impact, but it had more of an impact than I thought. I've just had a lot of people stopping me in every place that you can imagine, talking about how good it feels to see the beginning of a national pharmacare program, and that their diabetes medication and devices are being covered.”


“I hope that constituents understand that I worked very hard to make those things a reality and I'll continue to work hard until 2025, because I believe in our region. I hope that they put trust in the NDP as a brand and the amazing person that I know will come from this riding to step forward in the NDP position for the next campaign.”