Former Liberal cabinet minister Sean Fraser has reversed his retirement decision, announcing he will seek re-election in Central Nova amid a dramatic shift in his party’s electoral fortunes under new leader Mark Carney.
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Fraser, who stepped down as housing minister in December citing family concerns, said his change of heart came after direct assurances from Carney about work-life balance. “We probably spent half an hour on the phone discussing the assurances that we could create a family-friendly environment,” Fraser told reporters.
The reversal comes as recent polling shows a transformed political landscape. According to a Leger survey released on March 24, the Liberal Party under Carney now leads with 44% support among decided voters, compared to 38% for Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives—a sharp contrast from polling trends before Carney’s leadership.
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Data from Polling aggregator Polling Canada shows a surge of 25 seats for the Liberal party in the most recent averages.
Fraser framed his decision partly as a response to cross-border tensions, saying it’s “an opportunity to demonstrate to my kids that when there are important fights to have, good people need to stand up to bullies,” referring to the current US administration. This messaging aligns with polling showing 36% of Canadians consider US relations the key election issue.
Fraser’s change of mind has one complication for the Liberal Party: they have already nominated Graham Murray in Central Nova. However, Murray notably missed Carney’s Halifax appearance Tuesday.
Fraser joins several other high-profile Liberals who have reversed retirement plans since Carney’s arrival, including cabinet minister Anita Anand and MPs Wayne Long and Helena Jaczek.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre criticized the announcement, saying Fraser “helped contribute to creating this crisis in the first place. And now Mark Carney and the Liberals say that he should be back.”
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