Point Douglas MLA Kevin Chief turned in his resignation papers Monday morning so he can pursue new opportunities in the private sector, Manitoba’s New Democrats say.
Chief announced plans to leave the political arena in December and made it official Monday when he filed his resignation papers at Speaker Myrna Driedger’s office.
“He is seeking new opportunities in the private sector that will permit him to spend more time with his young family,” a spokesperson with the NDP said in a statement, adding Chief won’t be giving any interviews. “He has three sons, ages six, two and nine months.”
Chief was first elected in Point Douglas in October 2011. In 2010, he ran for a spot in the federal Winnipeg North riding but lost to Liberal MP Kevin Lamoureux.
Drag the Red co-founder Bernadette Smith hopes to replace Chief.
Smith has lived in Point Douglas for more than 30 years and is an advocate for missing and murdered Indigenous women. Her sister, Claudette Osborne, has been missing for more than eight years.
The NDP did not provide details about what new opportunities in the private sector Chief intend to pursue.