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Liberal MP Pablo Rodriguez announced his resignation from cabinet on Thursday and said he will sit as an Independent until the launch of the Quebec Liberal Party leadership race next year.
At a news conference in Gatineau, Que., Rodriguez said he is staying on until January to avoid a costly byelection weeks, or possibly months, before a general election.
The first phase of the Quebec Liberal leadership race begins on Jan. 13, 2025.
No byelection is called within nine months of a fixed date general election, according to the Parliament of Canada Act.
“My priorities can no longer be those of a government that I have always served as a good team player,” Rodriguez told reporters, adding that he wants to set his own priorities and advance a vision for a “fairer, more humane, more united Quebec.”
“I am certain that François Legault’s Quebec — with its divisive politics — doesn’t resemble Quebecers and doesn’t unite Quebecers,” he added.
Pablo Rodriguez announced that he’s stepping down from his roles as Minister of Transport and Quebec lieutenant to sit as an Independent MP. Rodriguez says he will run for the Quebec Liberal leadership.
Rodriguez’s departure from cabinet comes nearly two months after Seamus O’Regan, the former labour and seniors minister, stepped down.
The Trudeau government is expected to announce at 3:30 p.m. who will replace Rodriguez in his roles as Quebec lieutenant and transport minister, according to Radio-Canada sources.
President of the Treasury Board Anita Anand will be given the transport portfolio as an additional responsibility, according to CBC News sources. Public Services Minister Jean-Yves Duclos is expected to be appointed Quebec lieutenant.
Rodriguez’s deep ties to the federal Liberal Party span more than 20 years.
He was first elected with the party in 2004 as the MP for Honoré-Mercier, in Montreal’s east end, and re-elected in the same riding in 2006 and 2008. After being defeated by the NDP’s Paulina Ayala during the Orange Wave in 2011, he was re-elected in 2015 and in the last two elections.
A staunch Liberal, Rodriguez was sworn in as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Quebec lieutenant and government House leader in 2019.
In response to Quebec Premier François Legault’s recent attempt to rally support against the Trudeau government, Rodriguez confirmed he would be voting against a Conservative non-confidence motion set to be tabled next week.
On Thursday, Legault called on Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon to show some “courage” and ask Bloc Leader Yves-François Blanchet not to back the Trudeau government and to “defend the interests of the Quebec nation.”
“To my surprise, Mr. Legault is pushing the Bloc Québécois to defeat the government,” Rodriguez said. “My message to Mr. Legault is if he wants to do federal politics, he should come to Ottawa.”
He accused Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of indulging in “partisan politics” and said Canadians don’t want an election right now.
Blanchet said Wednesday he would vote against the non-confidence motion, noting the result would amount to swapping Trudeau for Poilievre.
“I’m not a Conservative. Conservative values are not Quebec values,” Blanchet said Wednesday.
With Rodriguez’s departure, the Liberals will have 33 MPs in Quebec — the same number as the Bloc Québécois.
Source: cbc
