Premier Christy Clark lost another key cabinet minister late Tuesday when Transportation Minister Blair Lekstrom revealed that he will not seek re-election.
Lekstrom's announcement followed retirements by two Liberal backbenchers, Joan McIntyre and Rob Howard earlier in the day.
Clark, whose cabinet has been hit hard by departures of late, got a bit of good news earlier in the day when Energy Minister Rich Coleman confirmed he will run in the next provincial election on May 14, 2013.
Lekstrom, the MLA for Peace River South, issued a prepared statement that did not elaborate on his reasons for leaving, other than to say he plans to "pursue new opportunities in life."
He noted that he has served nearly 20 years in elected office - three years as a city councillor, five years as mayor of Dawson Creek and nearly 12 years as an MLA.
Lekstrom served previously as Minister of Community Development and Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Development.
Clark is expected to shuffle her cabinet, possibly as early as today, after several prominent ministers announced their retirement last week, including Finance Minister Kevin Falcon, Education Minister George Abbott and Children's Minister Mary McNeil.
Coleman, who will likely get a plum role in Clark's new cabinet, said Tuesday that the possibility of the NDP forming government made him realize "I've still got the fire in the belly.
"I've still got the reason to be here, and I think I can contribute," said Coleman, who has represented the Langley area for four terms, including stints as solicitor general and forests minister. He is also the government's house leader.
"Grandchildren, they're probably the motivation for me staying because when I started this thing up," he said. "I didn't like what it looked like for my kids, for the future of British Columbia, because of what the New Democrats had done."
As energy minister, Coleman is responsible for guiding the province's energy policy which has been focusing on liquefied natural gas development in northern B.C. He has also presided over the government's attempts to bring more mining developments to the province.
The former Mountie is spearheading the government's exploration of privatizing liquor distribution and has worked to turn hotels in Vancouver's downtown eastside into housing for the homeless.
Coleman said the decisions by Falcon, Abbott and McNeil to not run in 2013 will result in a loss of experience for the Liberals, but their decisions to leave present opportunities for others to step forward and bring new ideas with them.
"It's a good time now to bring in the people who are going to be running in the election so that we can have the renewal and show people the strength of our bench and the strength of the team we have," said Coleman.
Coleman's announcement came about one hour before backbenchers Howard of Richmond-Centre and McIntyre of West Vancouver-Sea-To-Sky said they won't be seeking re-election.
There are now 16 members of Clark's government who won't be running in the May 2013 election. That includes former cabinet ministers Barry Penner and Iain Black, who returned to the private sector, and John van Dongen, who left to sit with the B.C. Conservatives.
Clark's Liberal team still has veteran ministers Pat Bell, Shirley Bond, Mary Polak and Mike de Jong.
lkines@timescolonist.com
