Longtime Cape Breton MP Rodger Cuzner will not re-offer

Cape Breton MP won’t re-offer this fall Liberal Roger Cuzner confirms worst-kept secret in N.S. politics. Kyle Moore reports.

Longtime Cape Breton Liberal MP Rodger Cuzner is leaving politics after 19 years in Ottawa.

The MP for Cape Breton-Canso announced Friday morning that he will not be re-offering in the upcoming federal election.

“Folks, it's been a great run,” Cuzner said Friday. “There's probably two reasons I'm not re-offering: one is that I'm tired and the other is that I'm cranky.”

And with that, Rodger Cuzner was the sixth Liberal MP to announce he will not run in this fall's federal election despite controversy surrounding his party including the SNC-Lavalin affair. Cuzner says that had nothing to do with his decision today.

“I would've been disappointed had our prime minister not wanted to explore every opportunity to save 9,000 jobs and countless thousands of pensioners,” Cuzner said.

Cecil Clarke, mayor of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality, thanked Cuzner for his years of service on Twitter.

“It has been a pleasure to work with someone so committed to our community,” said Clarke.

The Glace Bay native was first elected to the House of Commons in 2000 and has been re-elected five times.

Over his 19 year span in politics he takes credit for cleaning up the tar ponds, and bringing hundreds of call centre jobs to Glace Bay after the coal mines closed.

Cape Breton’s only other MP, Liberal Mark Eyking, confirmed in February that he won’t be seeking re-election in the riding of Sydney-Victoria in the federal election.

Now that Cuzner has stepped aside, there's plenty of speculation on the streets of Glace Bay on who might replace him. One MLA who is the subject of rumours says he's not interested.

“I'm set where I am,” Glace Bay MLA Geoff MacLellan said. “Rodger leaves very large shoes to fill. I'm sure worthy candidates will come forward, but I'm certainly not one of them.”

Political science professor at Cape Breton University, Tom Urbaniak says Cuzner will leave a legacy of being a non-partisan politician. One that was popular among colleagues of all stripes in Ottawa.

Now that he's gone, Urbaniak says the Liberals have their work cut out for them to keep the seat.

“The Liberal party will have to think very seriously about who emerges as its candidate in this riding,” Urbaniak said.

As for 63-year-old Cuzner, he plans on spending time with family on the Mira River.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Kyle Moore.