MP Erin Weir reveals he won’t be running in next election

Erin Weir, who has represented the constituency of Regina-Lewvan for the NDP since 2015, announced Tuesday he won’t be running in the 2019 federal election.

Weir was expelled from the NDP caucus in May of 2018 by Leader Jagmeet Singh after allegations of harassment. Weir has sat as an independent since then.

Singh has refused to reconsider his decision.

Weir said Tuesday that his focus always has been on providing what he called “progressive representation” for Regina and he didn’t think he could do that as a member of the NDP.

In Weir’s mind, his decision not to run in the October election applied not only to the NDP but also to the possibility of running as an independent or for another party.

“Some other party leaders and other Members of Parliament did approach me about running for other parties,” Weir said. “I certainly took is as a compliment that they were interested in me as a candidate, but I remain a lifetime New Democrat.

“Me running under another banner in this year’s federal election just wouldn’t help achieve progressive representation for our city.”

Weir said it’s unfortunate that Singh won’t review the process by which the allegations were investigated or how Weir was kicked out of the party.

In January, the Regina-Lewvan NDP Electoral District Association voted to allow Weir to seek the NDP nomination in this year’s federal election. Weir also said a petition calling for an appeal of Singh’s decision had been circulated, but the NDP leader hasn’t wavered.

“Unfortunately, rather than taking a second look at a deeply flawed process or letting party members decide, the federal NDP leader seems willing to just hand the constituency over to the Conservatives,” Weir said.

Weir wouldn’t discuss his future plans, other than to say he’s “looking at different possibilities.” He did note that he was disappointed that his “long-time interest” in the NDP won’t continue during the upcoming election campaign.

“I would say that serving in Parliament has been and is the greatest honour of my life,” said Weir, who joined the Saskatchewan NDP when he was 15. “I do want to thank voters for entrusting me with this enormous privilege.

“The whole experience (after the expulsion from caucus) has been difficult. I have been encouraged by an outpouring of support from people here in Regina and across the country. Under the circumstances, though, I am glad and a bit relieved to be announcing a clear decision about this year’s election.”