NDP MP Daniel Blaikie resigning House seat to work with Manitoba premier

NDP MP Daniel Blaikie rises during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

NDP MP Daniel Blaikie announced Wednesday he will be stepping down to become Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew's senior adviser on intergovernmental affairs.

The decision to vacate his Manitoba seat on Parliament Hill as of March 31 comes after he spent close to a decade in federal politics.

"I am grateful to my constituents, my wife and my family for supporting me in serving my community as their MP," Blaikie said in a statement provided by the party.

Blaikie has represented the riding of Elmwood-Transcona — a constituency that was previously held by his late father Bill Blaikie — since 2015.

During his time as an MP, Blaikie has held a series of critic and committee roles, including as NDP caucus chair and the party's finance critic, pushing for employment insurance reforms and a more equitable tax system.

"As someone who became a father and an MP around the same time, one of the things I learned during the pandemic was how much it means to me to spend more time at home with my family while our kids are young."

Most recently, Blaikie has been one of the party's lead MPs working on negotiating policy progress through the Liberal-NDP supply-and-confidence deal.

As a longtime advocate for electoral reform, he's been in talks with Democratic Institutions Minister Dominic LeBlanc on advancing new amendments to the Canada Elections Act.

In the statement announcing his coming departure from Parliament Hill, the NDP said Blaikie will be joining the premier's office in his home province, as of April.

Blaikie said he's "learned a lot" sitting around the NDP caucus table and has "full confidence" in NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and his remaining MPs to "keep using their powers to put people first."

Singh is quoted in the resignation statement as wishing Blaikie well "as he continues to champion NDP values" while being able to be closer to his family.

As an aside, Blaikie's resignation announcement came not long after he was called to apologize for a heckle the Conservatives called "repulsive, vulgar and un-parliamentary" during Wednesday's question period.

"Mr. Speaker in the course of expressing concerns for the tongue of certain Conservative members that I feared would get stuck in the backside of their leader as he exited the chamber, I did indeed use un-parliamentary language … And I do unconditionally apologize for the comments," Blaikie said, withdrawing his remark.