WINNIPEG -- A former cabinet minister who came close to unseating Manitoba NDP Premier Greg Selinger is leaving politics.
One-time health minister Theresa Oswald said Tuesday she will not seek re-election in the provincial election slated for April. Oswald said she made the decision with her family and told Selinger first thing Tuesday morning.
"When I asked myself the question that politicians need to ask themselves at election time, every time, 'Will I run again in the next election?' my heart's core told me 'No'," she said in an interview. "It's time for me to do something different, time for me to move on to a new chapter and time for me to allow new blood into the party."
Oswald said she doesn't have a job lined up and is open to helping the New Democrats win re-election.
"Yes, we've made some mistakes, for which I've heard the premier apologize, but we've gotten a lot of things right," she said.
Oswald was one of five cabinet ministers who led an open revolt against Selinger last November as the party plummeted in the polls following a provincial sales tax increase. Oswald ran against him in a leadership contest last March and lost by 33 votes.
She was offered a seat in Selinger's cabinet but declined.
Only two of the rebel cabinet ministers who spoke out against Selinger -- former attorney general Andrew Swan and former finance minister Jennifer Howard -- are running again under his leadership. Former municipal affairs minister Stan Struthers announced he would not be seeking re-election and former health minister Erin Selby resigned in a failed bid for a federal seat.
Selinger said Oswald made an important contribution to the party and the province as one of its longest serving health ministers.
"Obviously I wished that she would have run again. She's been a strong contributor to public life in Manitoba and to our government," Selinger said. "Her service should be recognized."
Oswald leaves the constituency in good shape but Selinger admitted the seat will be harder to win without the woman who has represented it for 12 years.
"There's no question, it's a hole to fill for sure," he said. "Replacing a high-profile member of the legislature is never an easy task."
