B.C. Liberal MP Keith Martin to step down
Last Updated: Tuesday, November 9, 2010 | 12:30 PM PT
CBC News
Martin, 50, has won the riding of Esquimalt-Juan de Fuca, just west of Victoria, six times for four parties since he defeated NDP MP Dave Barrett in 1993.
But in a statement released Tuesday morning, Martin said he believes now is the time for him to go.
"When I entered politics 17 years ago, I did so because I wanted to make a difference in our community, our country, and the world. This work is not complete and never will be," he said.
"However, there is a time to go and in my heart I think this is it. Canada's institutions need new blood and new ideas and it is neither sensible nor fair for someone to stay too long."
He was first elected in 1993 as a member of the Reform Party and later sat for the Alliance. But his views often led him to clash with the party leadership and he left the party to sit as an Independent when it merged with the Conservatives. He eventually ran for the Liberals in the 2004 election.
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