The NDP's cerebral candidate in the federal riding of Vancouver Centre, Randall Garrison, has withdrawn "due to personal reasons".

Tim Armstrong, the NDP president in the riding, issued a statement thanking Garrison for his hard work and dedication over the past 18 months.

Liberal MP Hedy Fry has held the riding since 1993. The Greens have nominated former provincial leader Adriane Carr.

In a 2005 profile in the Georgia Straight, columnist Terry Glavin described Garrison as an "honourable man" who was part of a team of observers to the UN's referendum on independence for East Timor in 1999.

Garrison lost in the riding of Esquimalt-Juan de Fuca to Liberal Keith Martin in the 2006 election.

The NDP has often gone into elections in Vancouver Centre with high hopes, only to be disappointed. Svend Robinson lost to Fry in 2006; SFU public policy professor Kennedy Stewart lost to Fry in 2004.

Garrison would have had an even tougher time with the Greens running their highest-profile candidate yet. As the party's deputy leader, Carr will probably receive a lot of help and financial support from head office when the election is finally called.