Tim Hudak is quitting provincial politics two years after being ousted as Progressive Conservative leader over the drubbing his party suffered in the 2014 election.

Hudak said Tuesday he will resign as MPP for Niagara West-Glanbrook on Sept. 16 to become chief executive of the Ontario Real Estate Association, an industry lobby group.

“When a really good opportunity comes along, you grab it,” said Hudak, who had been looking for career options outside politics and took a steep pay cut after losing the leader’s job.

Hudak was first elected in 1995 at the age of 27 as the Mike Harris “Common Sense Revolution” swept Bob Rae’s New Democrats out of power with promises to cut spending.

Hudak later held three cabinet portfolios, including consumer and business services, where the Ontario Real Estate Association said it “worked closely” with him on issues like electronic signatures on real estate transactions, a grow-op registry, and fighting municipal land transfer taxes.

Hudak won the PC leadership in 2009 and battled then-premier Dalton McGuinty in the 2011 election, which saw the Liberals reduced to a minority. McGuinty resigned a year later amid the scandal over cancelled power plants.

In 2014, after a week on the campaign trail against Premier Kathleen Wynne, Hudak pledged to cut 100,000 public sector jobs — a controversial vow made with little or no input from the party’s grassroots.

The Conservatives subsequently lost nine seats in the election — vaulting Wynne to a majority — and Hudak announced a plan to resign once a successor could be chosen.

But he quickly faced a revolt from angry Conservative MPPs and was forced to step aside within a month of the election.

Hudak said in Tuesday’s statement he had no regrets for following in the footsteps of Harris, his mentor. His wife, Deb Hutton, was a senior adviser to Harris.

“I’m proud that we put forward an honest, bold plan that would right-size government, spur our economy and help the most vulnerable among us,” the father of two young girls wrote in his statement.

Despite the political setback, Hudak was credited for staying involved as an MPP, pushing several private member’s bills, including one to ease government restrictions on boutique distilleries.

Wynne, who is on a tour of northern Ontario to shore up sagging Liberal fortunes there, said she congratulated Hudak during a phone call Tuesday morning.

“While Tim and I may have disagreed at times, I know that we both share a love for this province, a commitment to our children and to future generations,” she said in a statement.

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath, who was also elected party leader in 2009, said she rarely saw eye-to-eye with Hudak but noted he “earned respect from all sides of the political spectrum for his careful preparation, his sharp wit and his keen sense of humour.”

PC Leader Patrick Brown, who repeatedly slammed Hudak’s 100,000 job cuts promise during the party’s 2015 leadership race, thanked his predecessor.

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“Tim has been a stalwart in the Ontario PC Party and the Niagara Region community,” Brown said in a statement.

“All of us will miss his advice and experience around the caucus table.”

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