Goldie Ghamari not seeking re-election

Goldie Ghamari, the two-time MPP for Ottawa's Carleton riding whose second term saw her ousted from the Progressive Conservative caucus, is not running for re-election in the 2025 provincial election. 

Ghamari made the announcement in a statement posted to X on Friday morning, three days into the campaign. 

She won the Carleton riding for the PCs in 2018 and 2022 with about 50 per cent of the vote, but was removed from the party caucus last year after meeting with a far-right British activist and anti-Islam campaigner. She then sat as an Independent.

Her departure from the race guarantees voters in Carleton will see a new face in office after polls close on Feb. 27.

Running without the support of a party would have been tough sledding, according to Geneviève Tellier, a professor of political studies at the University of Ottawa

"It's always very difficult for [Independents] to be elected," she said, noting that only six of 124 members were without a party when the legislature was dissolved earlier this week.

Two candidates are currently running for Ghamari's former seat: Brandon Bay for the Liberals and George Darouze for the Progressive Conservatives. CBC adds candidates to its riding profiles when they're confirmed by Elections Ontario or listed by one of the four parties with a seat at Queen's Park at dissolution.

'This is not a goodbye' 

Ghamari became the first Iranian-Canadian woman to hold elected office in Canada when she won the seat in 2018, according to her statement. 

"I want to thank the people of Carleton for welcoming me with open arms," she wrote. 

"I am a better person than when I first got elected, all because of the people of Carleton." 

As for her future plans, Ghamari referred to closing "this chapter" of her political career and concluded her statement by hinting at a possible return in the future.

"Please rest assured that this is a not a 'goodbye.' It's just 'see you later,'" she wrote.