Conservative MP Karen Vecchio won’t run again in next election

A Conservative MP with a reputation for being able to work across party lines has confirmed to a local radio station that she’s planning to leave federal politics and will not run again in the next election.

Elgin-Middlesex-London MP Karen Vecchio was first elected in 2015 and has won the last three elections handily, with about 50 per cent of the vote each time. 

But in an interview excerpt that radio station 94.1 St. Thomas Today posted online, Vecchio said she would not be going for a fourth straight victory.

“Unfortunately, my name will not be on the ballot,” she said. “Next year, when the federal election occurs, I will have been at 10 years. And for me, I believe everybody has an expiry date, and I know when it’s time to be home.”

The radio station also quotes Vecchio as saying she had “put my riding first” and now wants “to return to the needs and commitments of my family.”

Vecchio “has proudly served her community since 2015 and has been a dedicated member of the Conservative caucus,” said party spokesperson Sarah Fischer in a statement.

“We wish her all the best following the next election, as she continues to serve her constituents until then.”

‘Truly listened’

Vecchio’s decision not to run again is disappointing, said Nawaz Tahir, a constituent and spokesperson for Hikma Public Affairs Council, a group that strives to increase the political participation of Muslims in the London, Ont., area.

“I thought she was one of the members of Parliament that truly listened and took time to sit down and spend as much time with you as needed. So that’s a loss for our community,” he said in an interview with CBC News. 

Tahir said her constituents admire her for being down to earth, sincere, and for taking time to connect with people and issues.

“In this day and age, where you can contrast people who seem fake or overly hyper-partisan, she seemed to be the exact opposite of that,” he said. 

Shuffled out of committee chair role

Vecchio has a reputation for being able to work across party lines to get things done, according to Liberal and NDP members who served with her on the standing committee on the status of women.

In April, Vecchio was abruptly shuffled out of her role as chair of that committee, a position she had held since 2017 and which came with a pay bump of $13,700.

The Conservatives on the committee voted to replace her with another Conservative MP, Shelby Kramp-Neuman. 

At the time, a spokesperson for the opposition leader said that reshuffling committee assignments is not unusual.

The committee has tackled issues including missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, intimate partner violence and safety in sports.

Vecchio was one of 16 MPs who supported former Quebec premier Jean Charest in the 2022 Conservative leadership contest, which was decisively won by current leader Pierre Poilievre. 

She was also the lone federal Conservative in the room during an April 2023 announcement that St. Thomas, Ont., would be home to Volkswagen’s first electric vehicle battery plant in North America.

After praising the politicians and workers who secured the deal, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau launched into a pointed partisan attack on Poilievre — and noted Vecchio’s presence at the event. 

“Pierre Poilievre came out and said this project was a waste of money,” Trudeau said at the announcement. “Karen, you have your work cut out for you.”