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Without being all in, I cannot be in at all

“I knew it would be hard on my family life to do this,” Poilievre said in a statement, noting he has been criss-crossing the country to prepare his campaign. “But I did not realize how hard. It is harder still because I had just spent the earlier 18 months campaigning furiously to win back my seat in the recent federal election, I mostly missed the 1st year of our baby’s life. As such, my heart is not fully engaged in this leadership race. Without being all in, I cannot be in at all.”

His wife Anaida echoed those sentiments in her own post on Facebook. “While we felt ready to tackle this challenge together as family, logistically it became a challenge bigger than expected,” she said. “We wish to be together more, and I hope people can understand that.”

Poilievre said he isn’t currently supporting any other candidate, but will be looking for a “strong fiscal conservative.”

“Finally, I want to thank the people who helped me, supported me and believed in me,” he wrote. “I will never forget it.”

Poilievre has held a seat in Parliament since 2004. He served in Stephen Harper’s cabinet from 2013 to 2015, and is the party’s finance critic.

Jenni Byrne, a former senior aide and organizer for Harper, had been working with Poilievre to get his campaign off the ground. “I think that the last few weeks were a lot more tough than what was anticipated,” Byrne told CTV News shortly after Poilievre’s announcement. “This is a big commitment. It’s not just a leadership race. It could be two to three years in opposition as well.”