After being in the House of Commons since 2019, Fredericton’s Member of Parliament Jenica Atwin has announced that she will not be running for re-election in the 2025 federal election.
The Liberal Party member said the main reason behind her decision was the difficulties of working in Ottawa with her children in her home riding, not online hate as previously reported by other outlets.
“I ran for them, it was about their future … they were my motivation,” said Atwin. “As they get older, it gets tougher.”
“[Online hate] was a component of the decision … I certainly don’t want to put the message out there that that was the reason,” said Atwin. “I want to draw attention to it, but I don’t want them to think that they chased me out of here because I’m not afraid of them.”
She said the choice to not run for Parliament was “bittersweet.”
“I’m never going to say anything bad about this incredible experience. It’s kind of like burning the candle on both ends … it started to weigh on [my kids] that anytime I was getting ready for the airport I could almost feel that anxiety brewing in them,” said Atwin.
Atwin became the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indigenous Services in 2023, which she characterized as her “dream.”
She noted that the position proved to her that she would want to be a parliamentary minister one day, but not without a condition.
“I could do it. I would bring my kids with me, that’s for damn sure,” said Atwin.
Being one of many Liberal MPs to call for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s resignation in December, Atwin said she was “mad” and “felt blindsided” when Chrystia Freeland’s resignation letter came out on Dec. 16.
She said that her words were taken out of context when she originally called for his resignation.
“It wasn’t an ultimatum where I’m like, ‘Prime minister stays and I go.’ What I meant was ‘We’re at a point where there is so much noise right now that nothing we’re saying as Liberals is getting through,’” said Atwin.
She agreed with what Freeland said in her resignation letter, saying that the estimated cost of $9 billion for the “gimmicky” $250 rebate checks announced to be given to Canadians in April could have been better placed.
“Every week we put forward many ideas where we could use that money to help people,” said Atwin. “[I was] not happy that we weren’t involved in that decision and then to see that Chrystia was not involved in that decision … I was upset.”
While she mentioned that she is “concerned” about what a federal Conservative government may bring to the country, she is still hopeful about the future, especially in New Brunswick.
“To see someone like Susan [Holt] being our premier has helped me be like ‘Okay, there’s people out there fighting for the things that I care about,’” she said. “It’s not like how I felt in 2019 where it was like, ‘I have to do this, no one else is talking about these things.'”
Atwin was originally elected as a member of the Federal Green Party in 2019. She became the first member of the party to be elected to the legislative branch outside of British Columbia.
Being just one of three members of the Green Party in Parliament at the time, Atwin recalls the feeling of when she first stepped into Parliament Hill as member of a minority party.
“I had never been there before in my life,” said Atwin, “I felt the magnitude of the responsibility and knowing that this was an incredible privilege to earn that seat and have to fight for our voices to be heard.”
In 2021, Atwin crossed the floor to become a member of the Liberal Party after falling out with people inside of her own caucus. She said she would “absolutely” make the same decision today.
She said there ended up being a lot of mistrust within the Green Party stemming from leaked emails and the internal Federal council working against elected parliamentarians.
Despite the size of the party, she believed her voice was not being heard, regardless of being one of just three parliamentarians.
She said she thought about quitting, but after being presented an opportunity to run for the Liberals she knew she wanted to continue fighting for what she believes in.
“2021 was the most difficult year of my entire life. I went through so much mentally, emotionally, it was a lot. There were days I didn’t want to get out of bed,” said Atwin. “But, I somehow came out on the other side.”
While this is the end of her time in federal politics for now, Atwin believes she could “tackle” this again once her kids are older.
“I see myself still being involved in the political arena, whether that’s provincially, federally, municipally,” she said.
“I just know that you can’t keep me away from advocating for what people need, because far too often people’s voices are silenced and not heard.”
