Churence Rogers was elected to the federal Liberals in 2017. (CBC)

Longtime Liberal MP Churence Rogers says he won’t be returning to Ottawa once his term in office ends next year.

The member for Bonavista-Burin-Trinity told Radio-Canada on Friday he won’t be seeking re-election and it has nothing to do with the “turmoil” within the Liberal Party.

“The timing may be suspect, but the reality is this decision was made for personal reasons,” Rogers said. “Because of my age, and because of the fact that I need to spend more time, private time, with my wife for whatever time I have left in this world.”

Rogers is 71 and has had a long career in politics on top of a 29-year career as an educator. He served as mayor of Harbour Breton from 1997 until 2003 and then as mayor in his hometown Centreville-Wareham-Trinity from 2009 until 2017 when he was elected to the federal Liberals.

He says he made his decision to retire months ago, and intended to send a letter to his constituents before the Canada Post strike.

He says he’s most proud of the work accomplished in his “fishing riding.”

“We’ve supported the fishing industry in many different ways, not always agreeing on all the issues, but [we] certainly worked hard to make sure that people in the riding are well represented,” he said.

His announcement comes during a rocky period for the governing Liberals.

Last week, Chrystia Freeland resigned from her role as finance minister in Justin Trudeau’s cabinet, a move that sent shock waves throughout Parliament Hill. Sean Fraser, the former housing minister, also announced he’d being leaving cabinet and won’t be seeking re-election.

Rogers says he was shocked by Freeland’s resignation, but still supports the Liberal Party and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

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