Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird is planning to resign from his position, CTV News has confirmed.

Baird, 45, is expected to rise in the House of Commons Tuesday to announce he will step down. He will not run again in the next election, scheduled for October.

Very few people in government knew about Baird’s shocking move, CTV’s Ottawa Bureau Chief Robert Fife reported Monday night.

However, sources close to Baird said the minister had been thinking about leaving government for the past couple months.

Baird has a job lined up in the private sector, as well as some corporate boards, sources say. There have been reports that he may do some work for the United Nations, helping to reform the World Health Organization.

Baird’s move is also considered a surprise given that it’s an election year.

However, Fife reports that Baird is currently in a position to collect a $100,000-plus pension when he reaches 55 years of age. Under new MP pension rules, if Baird had sought re-election again this year, he wouldn’t be able to collect that sum until age 65.

Baird’s departure is considered a setback for the Conservative government. He was one of Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s most trusted cabinet ministers and one of his best communicators.

Possible replacements for the foreign affairs portfolio include:

Employment Minister Jason Kenney

Trade Minister Ed Fast

Transport Minister Lisa Raitt

Health Minister Rona Ambrose

Citizenship and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander, who is a former diplomat

Baird was first elected as an MP for the riding of Ottawa West-Nepean in 2006. He has since served as president of the treasury board, environment minister and foreign affairs minister.

Before he entered federal politics, Baird was in former Ontario premier Mike Harris’s cabinet.

Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird jokingly warns photographers not to take pictures during his visit to the Citadel, Thursday, Sept. 4, 2014 in Erbil, Iraq. (Ryan Remiorz / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

Jim Prentice and Transport Minister John Baird display their preferred Canadian university football team jerseys on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Thursday, Nov. 26, 2009. (Fred Chartrand / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

John Baird makes his way from the foyer following question period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ont., on Monday Oct. 19, 2009. (Sean Kilpatrick / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

John Baird points up towards photographers as he signs a copy of the summary of his climate change plan report following question period on Parliament Hill, in Ottawa Monday, March 10, 2008. (Tom Hanson / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

John Baird fuels a hydrogen bus as he takes part in the opening of the first permanent hydrogen fuelling station in Ottawa on Sunday Oct 14, 2007. (Sean Kilpatric / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

Jim Flaherty looks on as John Baird gives the thumbs-up during a news conference in Ottawa, Wednesday March 21, 2007, displaying automobiles that will qualify for the new environmental rebate program. (Fred Chartrand / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

Then newly elected Conservative MP John Baird looks on as he takes part in an orientation session in the House of Commons Thursday, Feb. 2, 2006 in Ottawa. (Fred Chartrand / THE CANADIAN PRESS)