Three more high-profile members of the B.C. Liberal government announced they will not seek re-election next May, leaving Premier Christy Clark to shuffle her cabinet.
Education Minister George Abbott and Children's Minister Mary McNeil said Thursday they would not run again, though neither resigned their cabinet portfolios.
John Les, parliamentary secretary to the premier, also called it quits a day after finance minister Kevin Falcon stepped down.
Clark said Wednesday she is preparing to shuffle her cabinet shortly.
She said the resignations should not be viewed as the disintegration of her government but as opportunities for the BC Liberals to rebuild their free-enterprise coalition and bring fresh eyes to the government.
Abbott and McNeil have been signaling for months they were pondering their political futures, but the pending departure of Les comes as a surprise.
Les thanked both the premiers he worked under and says the decision to leave was difficult. The former mayor of Chilliwack, was first elected as an MLA in 2001. He served as solicitor general and minister of small business and economic development.
Les also played a key role in providing the public with information about the ill-fated harmonized sales tax.
McNeil, first elected in 2009, has been saying in recent months she wanted to spend more time with her 13 grandchildren.
She issued a statement saying she will remain as an MLA until next May, but won't be running in the election.
She says she isn't resigning her cabinet post and says she'll serve the premier in any capacity she wishes. The Vancouver-False Creek MLA also served as minister of citizen services.
Prior to entering politics, McNeil worked as president and chief executive officer of the BC Cancer Foundation.
Abbott is a four-term Liberal who ran for the party leadership last year, placing third behind Clark and Falcon. He experienced a tumultuous period last year as the government and province's teachers attempted to negotiate a new labour contract.
Teachers withheld many extra-curricular activities for much of the school year, but after the government passed strike-prohibiting legislation, the teachers and their employer reached a two-year mediated deal.
Abbott refused to give the teachers a wage increase during the dispute.
The Shuswap MLA was first elected in 1996 and also served as ministers of health, aboriginal relations and reconciliation, women's services and community relations and sustainable resource management.
With files from the Canadian Press
