An Edmonton MLA announced Friday that his current term in the legislature would be his last in provincial politics.

Edmonton-Rutherford MLA and former health minister Fred Horne said, in a statement distributed Friday, that he would not seek a third term as MLA.

Horne released a statement through Twitter Friday, calling his time in the provincial government a “tremendous privilege, and one for which I will always be grateful”.

Horne was first elected as a PC MLA in 2008; he served for three years as health minister under former premier Alison Redford – a file taken over by Stephen Mandel when Premier Jim Prentice named his cabinet.

“I don’t really have any regrets, and I think that’s a good reason to make a decision to move to as well,” Horne said Friday.

Horne is the second member of the PC caucus in as many days to announce plans to leave provincial politics.

On Thursday, former finance minister Doug Horner announced he was resigning as MLA for Spruce Grove-Stony Plain effective January 31.

“This has been coming over the last little while, I won’t deny it was a difficult time,” Horner said Thursday.

One political analyst called the timing of these resignations suspect.

“The timing, in terms of these guys stepping down and announcing they won’t run, leads us to believe even more that we’re going to see a spring election,” analyst Bob Murray said.

Still, Murray said he’s not sure if any more such announcements should be expected.

“There’s one face in particular now that I think I’m most interested in hearing from, is going to be Thomas Lukaszuk,” Murray said.

The Castledowns MLA said he will run again – and said he hasn’t heard from Prentice about plans for a snap election, but he’s declared his intentions just in case.

“I think I will bring that experience particularly now that some of our more experienced members appear not to be running again,” Lukaszuk said.

With files from Susan Amerongen