Conservative cabinet ministers Stockwell Day and Chuck Strahl announced Saturday they will not run in the next federal election, yet another sign that Canadians may be heading to the polls this spring.
Delta-Richmond MP John Cummins also said he will not seek re-election, bringing to three the number of British Columbia MPs who announced Saturday they are leaving federal politics.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper is losing high-profile candidates just as speculation ramps up that Canadians will go to the polls in May, based on the likelihood that the government will fall on the federal budget, which is due to be released on March 22.
CTV's Chief Political Correspondent Craig Oliver said Saturday the announcements signal that an election is "pretty much a given."
"I think the prime minister is probably signalling that he knows what's in the budget, and that it probably isn't going to pass muster with the opposition parties, and so he's clearing the decks," Oliver told CTV News Channel. "And it won't be a help for him that he is losing these two very strong ministers, who are among the most competent and popular in his cabinet."
Day, who has held several high profile cabinet posts including his current role as treasury board president, said after 25 years in government, he was calling it quits.
"After 14 years in provincial government and almost 11 years at the federal level it is time to move on," Day said in the statement.
"I hereby announce that I will not be seeking re-election at the end of this mandate."
Day, who represents B.C.'s Okanagan-Coquihalla riding, was the first leader of the Canadian Alliance party -- which later merged with the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada to form the Conservative Party of Canada.
He has been a trusted member of Harper's cabinet, and has held the public safety and international trade portfolios.
Day, 61, said there would undoubtedly be "exciting and satisfying" days ahead if he were to continue his political career, but said he had made the decision carefully and with "prayerful consideration" along with his wife Valorie.
He did not specify what he will be doing next, only saying it was time to move on.
Strahl, the minister of transport, infrastructure and communities, played a key role in the federal government's response to the economic crisis by helping to implement, and tout, its Economic Action Plan.
Strahl's profile has risen in recent years since he was first elected to the House of Commons as a Reform MP in 1993. The MP for Chilliwack-Fraser Canyon was appointed minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food in 2006 and then minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development in 2007.
Strahl, 54, has battled a rare form of lung cancer for years, but did not indicate Saturday that his health was a reason for his decision not to seek re-election.
"While I am healthy, and though I still feel honoured and privileged to be a Member of Parliament, I have decided I won't be seeking re-election when Canada next goes to the polls," Strahl said in a statement.
Strahl went on to say that "for everything there is a season" and that he and his wife Deb are ready to "seek out the next, wonderful purpose that God has in store."
CTV's Ottawa Bureau Chief Robert Fife Tweeted Saturday that Harper is "losing two of the most competent and respected ministers."
Harper issued a statement thanking all three MPs "for their extraordinary dedication to public service throughout the years."
The prime minister added: "I look forward to working with them in the best interest of Canada until the end of their mandate."
In addition to Day, Strahl and Cummins, Tory MP Jay Hill announced last summer he will not seek re-election when Canadians next head to the polls.
