After 11 years in the legislature, PC MLA Colin LaVie said he's not running again because of his anxiety fuelled by the COVID-19 pandemic.

LaVie, MLA for Souris-Elmira, announced earlier this week he wouldn't be putting his name on the ballot for the next provincial election, after first announcing in February that he would be running.

"With all the lockdowns and everything, I just lost the connection with the people. I just didn't have the connection I had before," LaVie told CBC News: Compass host Louise Martin.

"Everybody was talking the election talk and I thought it could work, but when I go home in the evening … I would jump when the phone would ring."

His wife Shelley could see a difference in him, said LaVie.

"So we talked and then I said, 'Well maybe I should talk to my doctor and see where this is going, cause I never felt like this before.'"

That conversation with his doctor was crucial, said LaVie. They talked for about 90 minutes and made a list of pros and cons to running again.

"The cons were always taking over," he said. "The anxiety was just taking over deeply."

'Premier, I just can't do it'

Telling Premier Dennis King about his decision was difficult, said LaVie.

"The hardest trip I made to Charlottetown in the last 12 years was in to see the premier," he said.

"And I had to give him the bad news that, 'Premier, I just can't do it. I just lost it. And if I can't be there with my heart for the people, I just can't do it.'"

King was very supportive of his decision, said LaVie.

Favourite part of the job was door-knocking

LaVie said in the past he's received calls from his constituents about their own anxiety.

"I know exactly what these people are going through. Like, I didn't think it would have happened to me and it has happened," he said.

Reflecting on his past 11 years in politics, LaVie said his favourite part of his job was meeting people and hearing about their lives and their struggles.

"I wasn't one of these politicians [who would] go to a door and leave.… I always was invited into the house, whether it was for a cup of tea or a biscuit and whether it was for an hour or 45 minutes," he said.

Through his own experiences such as having addictions and being on social services, LaVie said he could identify with people's stories.

"I could sit down in the kitchen and relate to the people."

'Sit for seven days straight'

As for what's next, LaVie didn't reveal much about his future, except for one thing: a bit of time off with his wife.

"I never took a vacation in the last 12 years. I'd like to take a vacation … get away and just sit for seven days straight and read a book," he said.

Robin Croucher, a paramedic and entrepreneur in Souris, is seeking the PC Party nomination to replace LaVie in District 1, Souris-Elmira.