Today marks the last day in public life for Kamloops-South Thompson MLA – and former B.C. cabinet minister – Todd Stone.

Speaking on NL Newsday, Stone says his constituency office on Victoria Street will remain open to help people with their issues through October, but as soon as the writ drops on Saturday, his time in provincial politics will be up.

“I’ll be in the office for probably the first couple of weeks in October as well, and just helping where I can and not doing so as an MLA anymore but you know help tidy things up,” Stone said.

Stone says he’s spending his last day as MLA at the UBCM convention in Vancouver, where he’s been for most of the week meeting with a number of different ministers and First Nations leaders.

“I’m still responding to constituent files and closing off as many as we can,” Stone said. “Those are the quiet things that happen behind the scenes that you don’t necessarily see reported but its the important work of the constituency office. My staff are hard at work taking care of loose ends and so forth back in Kamloops.”

First elected in 2013, Stone was Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure in the former BC Liberal government of Christy Clark for four years.

When the Clark government fell in 2017, Stone found himself in Opposition, where he would stay for the next seven years. He was currently BC United’s House Leader, and the party’s Shadow Minister for Jobs, Small Business, and Economic Development.

“Believe me I enjoyed Question Period and going toe-to-toe with Premier Horgan and Premier Eby and you know, any minister that wanted to stand up and take me on,” Stone said, on NL Newsday.

“Some days you get the better of them, and some days they get the better of you but at the end of the day the real work and the progress happens in the hallways of the Legislature and behind the scenes where you are actually working together to try and solve problems.”

Stone was seeking a fourth term in office, but decided to step aside after BC United leader Kevin Falcon suspended the party’s campaign and encouraged supporters to instead back the rival B.C. Conservative Party.

While Stone says he hasn’t spoken to Falcon since that day, he did voice his support for Kamloops-North Thompson Conservative candidate Ward Stamer.

As for his next endeavour, Stone says after a fishing trip in Alaska, he’ll take a few months off to decompress before he moves into something in the private sector.

“Kamloops is still my home and it’s been a tremendous honour to represent the city and the region that I love so much for the past 12 years,” Stone said.

Friday also marks the last day in office for longtime Merritt MLA Jackie Tegart and Shuswap MLA Greg Kyllo. Like Stone, the pair were first elected to the BC Legislature in 2013.

“It has been an incredible privilege to serve the people of Shuswap and to work alongside the BC United team,” Kyllo, who previously said he won’t be seeking another term this fall, said. “While this hasn’t been an easy decision, I look forward to spending more time with family, especially my grandchildren.”

Tegart was planning to run again but she too changed her mind and stepped back after the BC United campaign came to an end.

“As one door closes, I always believe another one opens,” Tegart told Radio NL, when asked what her plans for the future are. “I’ve got a bucket list of places I want to travel to. I’ve got tons of things I want to do.”

She also encouraged people to vote in the Oct. 19 election, saying “is a very important election.”

“I really believe that democracy is pretty precious in our country and people have some choices to make,” Tegart added. “I would urge people to pay attention to platforms and to what the future of B.C. looks like and to make a very, very important decision on election day.”

“But don’t stay home. Please, don’t stay home.”