The National Campaign Director of the Liberal Party has announced he will be leaving the position at the end of the month, citing the toll two decades in politics has taken on him and his family.
Jeremy Broadhurst, who has been in the role for close to a year, said he will be stepping away after much consideration and discussion with his family.
“I have increasingly thought about the physical, mental and emotional effort that has been required of me over the last 20 years and specifically in the last five national campaigns and the toll that effort has taken on my wife and children.”
In his statement posted on X, he called the next federal election, “the most critical federal election campaign of my life,” and given those stakes, “the Prime Minister, the Liberal Party of Canada, and all of its candidates deserve someone who can bring more energy and devotion to the job.”
It comes a day after the NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said they would be ending its supply and confidence deal with the Liberal Party.
The two parties entered into a deal in 2022, with the NDP agreeing to keep the minority government in power until June 2025 in exchange for movement on key priorities.
The end of the agreement does not necessarily mean Canadians will be heading to the polls right away, however, it does put the Liberals back into a normal minority government situation with the NDP instead voting on Liberal legislation piece by piece.
National opinion polls suggest Poilievre’s Conservatives continue to hold a substantial lead in polls ahead of the Liberals and New Democrats.
Broadhurst’s departure leaves the Liberals in search of a new candidate to run the operations of their next campaign
Speaking in Toronto Thursday, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh refused to say whether or not he may vote non-confidence in the government this fall, which the Conservatives have been urging them to do.
There are also two byelections being held in Winnipeg and Montreal on September 16, the same day the House of Commons returns from summer break.
Broadhurst said he is still committed to the Liberal Party, adding “this does not the end of my involvement and support of them.”
He has taken on several positions within the party, including starting as the National Director, before working in the Prime Minister’s Office and for the deputy prime minister in Foreign Affairs, Intergovernmental Affairs, and Finance.
His last day in the role will be Sept. 30.
With files from John Marchesan, Cormac MacSweeney, Glen McGregor