Judy Darcy is the 6th B.C. cabinet minister to announce she won't run for re-election

Five cabinet ministers in British Columbia have now announced they won't run in the next provincial election.

Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Judy Darcy announced Thursday she won't be seeking re-election. Darcy has been MLA for New Westminster since 2013.

Michelle Mungall, the minister of jobs, economic development and competitiveness, announced Wednesday she won't be running again, either. She said she wants to spend more time with her family, including her two-year-old son.

Mungall was first elected as the member for Nelson-Creston in 2009.

Darcy and Mungall join Forests Minister Doug Donaldson; Shane Simpson, the minister of social development and poverty reduction; and Scott Fraser, Indigenous relations and reconciliation minister, in deciding not to run for re-election.

In March, B.C. Finance Minister Carole James announced she had been diagnosed with Parkinson's and would not run again.

The decisions come as speculation runs rampant about possible snap provincial election.

Premier John Horgan said recently that the circumstances have changed since the NDP struck an agreement with the Green caucus three years ago to form a minority government, fuelling speculation that he might call an election ahead of the fixed date next fall.

Earlier this week, Green Leader Sonia Furstenau said the government should focus on fighting the COVID-19 pandemic and overdose deaths instead of mulling an early election call.