The Prime Minister of British Columbia is expected to announce that he will resign on Tuesday afternoon, several sources told CTV News.
John Horgan is scheduled to speak at a 1:30 p.m. press conference in Vancouver, where he has spent the past two days in a cabinet retreat. CTV News will broadcast the event live.
There are rumors about the possible retirement of the prime minister since last week, when he appeared on a CBC radio show and gave an open answer about his political future.
Less than two months earlier, Horgan told CTV News journalist Robert Buffam that he had not ruled out running for a third term.
“I never predicted it would be where I am today; no one is more surprised than me and my 8th grade teacher at Reynolds High School. However, here I am. As long as I can continue to make a valuable difference, I will. Keep doing- ho, ”Horgan said May 5.
The prime minister’s reasons for retiring and the timing of his resignation are unclear, although his recent fight against cancer, which was Horgan’s second, may have influenced his decision.
Treatment for her throat cancer included 35 rounds of radiation. Earlier this year, Horgan suggested he might have returned to work earlier than was optimal, saying he was tired.
While BC’s NDP government faces major challenges in terms of affordability and shortage of GPs in the province, political observers said there is little indication that the prime minister would be ousted.
A recent survey by the Angus Reid Institute found Horgan to be one of Canada’s most popular prime ministers, even with his approval rating at the lowest level in recent years.
Last week, Horgan took full responsibility for the controversy surrounding the replacement of the Royal BC Museum, which received a major backlash for its estimated price of $ 789 million, and announced that the government was suspending the project.
Experts speculated that the prime minister’s decision could prevent the next NDP leader from getting dirty with the project.
The announcement was “indicative of a leader with a lot of political capital to burn,” David Black, an associate professor of communications and culture at Royal Roads University, told CTV News on Monday.
Featuring files by Bhinder Sajan of CTV News Vancouver and Mike Le Couteur, senior political correspondent for CTV News Channel