Duncan Leaving Provincial Politics

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Published: February 7, 2013 09:19 am EST

Ontario's Minister of Finance and Government Services Dwight Duncan officially announced that he will resign his role as member of provincial parliament on February 14.

Following Premier Dalton McGuinty's October announcement that he would be resigning, Duncan had indicated that he would not seek the leadership of the Liberal party or serve in the new Premier’s cabinet. On Thursday, he announced his resignation is effective three days after new Ontario Liberal leader Kathleen Wynne is scheduled to be sworn into office.

"I am proud and honoured to have been part of all of Premier McGuinty’s cabinets and I believe history will judge our record favourably," Duncan wrote in a statement posted on his Facebook page.

"For me, on a deeply personal level, it’s time to move on," wrote Duncan. "Spending more time with family and friends is at the top of my ‘to-do’ list. My son Sean’s entire life has been spent with his dad in elected office. He has supported that in every way imaginable. We both love to travel and plan to do a lot more of that.

"There are other personal developments, including my next career, which I will have more to say about in the days and weeks ahead," he added.

According to a report in the Windsor Star, Duncan said he has left he door open for a future in federal politics, but is not sure he will go through that door. An article in the Toronto Star states that Duncan is resigning for a Bay Street job.

As a result of Duncan's resignation, a by-election for his Windsor-Tecumseh riding will be held within six months.

Duncan was Ontario's Minister of Finance when the Liberal government announced one year ago that it would review and subsequently end OLG's partnership with Ontario's horse racing industry, and was a central public figure in calling the government's deal with racing a "subsidy" rather than a partnership as well as disputing both the numbers of Ontarians affected by the decision and the economic impact of the industry.

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