Health Minister and Ajax MP Mark Holland is hanging up his political hat, announcing he won’t seek re-election. “It’s time to go home,” the 50-year-old said, closing a 20-year Ottawa chapter that kicked off with a bang in 2004, when Ajax-Pickering voters swept him in by over 7,000 votes.
Holland’s career sparkled with wins—pushing marriage equality, revamping animal cruelty laws, and backing prison farms—earning him a “Rat Pack” rep for his fiery speeches. After a 2011 loss to Tory Chris Alexander, he led the Heart and Stroke Foundation’s Ontario arm before storming back in 2015, nabbing Ajax by 12,000 votes. Re-elected in 2019 and 2021 (by a whopping 15,000 last time), he climbed from parliamentary secretary to Chief Government Whip (2018-2021) and landed as Health Minister in 2023.
Maclean’s crowned him #2 in healthcare on its 2024 Power List, lauding his Pharmacare Act and drug coverage expansions—plus his “impressive head of hair.” But with Mark Carney’s leaner cabinet set to swear in Friday at 11 a.m. at Rideau Hall, Holland’s ready to exit stage left, leaving a legacy of grit and reform.