Foreign Affairs Minister Emerson will not seek re-election, reports say

Though friends and former colleagues in the business community had said earlier Tuesday that Emerson had not made up his mind, late in the day media outlets cited federal sources as saying Emerson will retire from politics.

Emerson spawned a storm of controversy by jumping to the Conservatives days after winning Vancouver Kingsway as a Liberal in the 2006 election.

The move left some supporters feeling jilted, and there was speculation the Conservatives would try to find a safer Vancouver-area riding if Emerson chose to run.

Reached on Tuesday evening, former West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast MP John Reynolds said he hadn't heard of Emerson's decision.

"He's going to make his own mind up," Reynolds said. "It's a tough decision. Whatever he does, he'll make the best decision for David Emerson."

Reynolds, whose initial conversation with Emerson led to him switching parties, said the wishes of Emerson's family would play a pivotal role in his decision.

A spokeswoman for Emerson, Anne Howland, said by email she was unaware of any decision.

"As far as I know, the minister has not yet made a decision."

Emerson was recruited personally by then Liberal prime minister Paul Martin to run in 2004 and given a high-profile post as industry minister in the short-lived Liberal minority government.

But after the Conservatives won a minority in January 2006, Emerson stunned supporters by crossing the floor to become minister for international trade. He argued he could do more good for his constituents and the country if he was in government instead of opposition.

Last spring, Prime Minister Stephen Harper appointed him foreign minister to replace the scandal-tainted Maxime Bernier.

Charles Kamimura, president of the Conservatives' Vancouver Kingsway electoral district association, said no nomination meeting had yet been scheduled.

"The riding association basically maintains its election readiness and preparedness regardless of who the candidate might be," he said.

Another senior Tory cabinet minister, Fisheries Minister Loyola Hearn, won't seek re-election, a senior government source told The Canadian Press on Wednesday.

"He won't be running," said the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Hearn declined comment, saying he will make an announcement on whether he will seek re-election in the St. John's South-Mount Pearl riding when an election is called.

The veteran MP had indicated prior to the 2006 federal election that it was likely his last campaign, said his former campaign manager, Bill Hynes.

"He did say when he ran the last time that this was probably his last campaign, and he'd said if the government lasted a full term he wouldn't be running again," Hynes said in an interview.

Hearn has spent decades in politics, first as a provincial cabinet minister in Newfoundland and Labrador and then as a federal MP.

In the last year, Hearn defended Newfoundland and Labrador's seal hunters after the European Union threatened a possible ban on seal products from Canada.

Hearn also weathered several attacks from Newfoundland Premier Danny Williams over Ottawa's equalization formula for the provinces. Williams has said he will do everything in his power to defeat the federal Tories.

Hynes said the minister's decision is personal, and has nothing to do with Williams's Anything But Conservative, or ABC, campaign.

"Loyola's never been one to back up from a battle," he said.