Rob Nicholson will not seek another term as the Conservative MP in the Niagara Falls riding.

In an interview with the Niagara Falls Review on Tuesday, the veteran politician said he typically announces his intention six months before an election.

With the next federal election scheduled for mid-October, Nicholson said he has informed Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer of his decision.

Nicholson, 66, has spent 24 years as an MP and served under three Conservative prime ministers: Brian Mulroney, Kim Campbell and Stephen Harper.

In January, he was appointed to the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians. The committee serves as an independent, high-level review body of Canada’s national security and intelligence organizations.

He is the longest serving Conservative member of Parliament.

“This has always been my dream job and I’m very grateful to the people of Niagara who have given me this opportunity over all these years,” Nicholson said.

He served in cabinet for more than 10 years and has held various high-profile positions, including minister of foreign affairs, national defence and justice, and was attorney general.

The married father of three said he’s grateful to his family, staff and constituents for their support over the years.

While he has no definitive plans once this term of office is over, he does plan to continue to serve his community.

“You can always find ways to serve, whether it’s in community organizations, your church, that kind of thing.”

A practising lawyer before entering politics, Nicholson was also a Niagara Region councillor for six years.

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“It has been a blessing, to have been born and lived in Niagara Falls all my life,” he said.

“There’s a picture in the Niagara Falls Review back in 1965 of me and my brother talking with (then prime minister) John Diefenbaker, and Mr. Diefenbaker asked me would I like to become an MP and I told him, yes I would.”

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