Housing Minister Sean Fraser announced on Monday he will not be running in the next federal election, citing the need to spend more time with his family. Fraser told reporters he came to the decision months ago while recovering from back surgery but didn’t allude to any future plans of running for Nova Scotia Liberal Party leadership, despite speculation.

Fraser’s departure creates another cabinet vacancy for Canada’s Liberal Party and comes just as Chrystia Freeland also announced she is leaving her cabinet post as finance minister. According to multiple sources, Prime Minister Trudeau and his senior advisors have been on a mission to re-shuffle their inner circle as they reportedly mount efforts to entice former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney to join the federal cabinet.

Fraser was first elected as an MP for the riding of Central Nova in 2015 and quickly rose through the political ranks. After serving as a parliamentary secretary for several years, he was appointed immigration minister following the Liberals’ win in 2021. Fraser was instrumental in Canada’s plan to increase the annual immigration target to 500,000 by 2025, citing labour shortages as the motivating reason, but the move was heavily criticized by Liberal opponents. Earlier this year, the government scaled back immigration targets by 20 per cent to help ease strains on housing, infrastructure and social programs.