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Interim Conservative Leader Rona Ambrose speaks in the House of Commons in Ottawa on April 11, 2017.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press

Conservative Rona Ambrose is set to announce on Tuesday that she is leaving federal politics, sources have told The Globe and Mail.

The interim Leader of the Conservative Party is expected to tell a crowd of Conservatives at the Chateau Laurier hotel in Ottawa that she will resign as an Edmonton MP and will not run in the 2019 election. The news about her resignation was first reported by political website iPolitics.

Sources say Ms. Ambrose, first elected in 2004, wanted to make the announcement before the new party leader is chosen on May 27 in Toronto to demonstrate that her decision was independent of who wins the leadership. The 48-year-old former cabinet minister, who held posts such as minister of public works and health during her time in government, will officially resign her seat when the House of Commons rises for the summer in June, a source said.

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Ms. Ambrose's office would not comment on the announcement, but Conservatives have been told to attend the breakfast speech at the Chateau Laurier, which will focus on the future of the Conservative movement in Canada. A tribute to Ms. Ambrose, who was elected as interim Leader in November, 2015, is planned in the House of Commons later on Tuesday, a source said.

"I think Rona did a tremendous job under very difficult circumstances when it came to keeping the party together," Conservative MP Diane Finley said before the news about Ms. Ambrose's resignation became public. "Whatever she does, I wish her every success."

Ms. Ambrose has been widely praised for her performance as interim Leader after the party's 2015 election loss and the resignation of former prime minister Stephen Harper. Her time as leader came with only one controversy, when Ms. Ambrose vacationed on a yacht owned by billionaire oilman Murray Edwards at the same time she was criticizing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for his trip to the Aga Khan's private island in the Bahamas.

Many Conservatives said Ms. Ambrose and her partner, J.P. Veitch, have for some time been signalling their desire to leave Ottawa. Conservatives said it would be difficult for Ms. Ambrose to return to caucus as an opposition MP once the new leader is chosen.

"She doesn't want to be here any more. … She's been telling people for months that she's moving on," one Conservative told The Globe.

One source said there was relief when celebrity investor Kevin O'Leary dropped out of the leadership race last month, because it removed the possibility that Ms. Ambrose would have to stay in Ottawa as a custodian for a leader who did not have a seat in Parliament.

On the weekend, Ms. Ambrose and Mr. Veitch held two parties at Stornoway, the residence of the leader of the Official Opposition, for former staff members, family and friends.

Former NHL player and victims' rights advocate Sheldon Kennedy, a long-time friend of the couple, attended the party on Saturday and said Ms. Ambrose wanted to gather people she has worked with over the years to say thank you before she left Stornoway.

He said he has spoken with Ms. Ambrose about potentially forming a research institute that would examine the issues and effects associated with child abuse, but nothing is confirmed.

Mr. Kennedy praised Ms. Ambrose, who worked at a sexual assault and sexual abuse crisis centre before going into politics, for her work on social justice issues such as family violence prevention.

"I think she was able to champion an issue that has been very difficult and avoided for a long, long time," he said. "That's very admirable."

The news of Ms. Ambrose's impending departure came on the day her private member's bill to require sexual assault training for judges passed in the Commons with support from the NDP and the Liberals. It now makes its way to the Senate for review before it can pass into law.

"This is an important bill that addresses a serious issue facing those who have suffered through the legal system in connection with a sexual assault case," Ms. Ambrose told reporters.

Bloomberg reported on Monday night Ms. Ambrose was set to join the Washington-based Wilson Center as a visiting fellow at the non-partisan think tank's Canada Institute, with a focus on bilateral trade with the United States.

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