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Hampton to step down as Ontario NDP leader in 2009

Last Updated: Saturday, June 14, 2008 | 3:05 PM ET

The Canadian Press

Ontario New Democratic Party Leader Howard Hampton confirmed on Saturday that he will not seek re-election at the party's next convention in March.

Speaking to delegates at an NDP provincial council meeting in Toronto, Hampton said he will stay on as a member of the legislature for Kenora-Rainy River, at least until the next Ontario election in 2011.

Hampton, 56, has been at the helm of Ontario's New Democrats since 1996, when he took over from former premier Bob Rae, who is now a federal Liberal MP.

He led the party through three provincial elections, but failed to make any major gains in the number of NDP seats in the Ontario legislature.

Hampton's wife, Shelley Martel, who also served in Bob Rae's cabinet in the early 1990s, retired from provincial politics before last year's election.

Hampton was first elected in 1987, and was both attorney general and natural resources minister in Rae's cabinet.

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