Pablo Rodriguez has resigned from his position as transport minister in the federal cabinet and will be seeking leadership of the Quebec Liberals, he told reporters on Thursday.
“I have informed the prime minister of my resignation as Canada’s transport minister and Quebec lieutenant, effective immediately,” he told reporters.
“I have also decided to sit as an Independent MP until the launch of the leadership campaign next January. This is in order to avoid costly byelections a few weeks or months before January.”
Treasury Board President Anita Anand will take on the transport file, and was sworn into the position in a small ceremony Thursday afternoon.
Public Services and Procurement Minister Jean-Yves Duclos will serve as the new Quebec lieutenant, the Prime Minister’s Office announced. The role is not an official cabinet position but serves as an advisor to the prime minister on issues specific to Quebec.
Rodriguez’s decision comes as the latest blow to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberals, who lost a key byelection in the stronghold riding of LaSalle—Émard—Verdun in Montreal on Monday.
Immigration Minister Marc Miller on Tuesday was asked if Rodriquez made his decision after the byelection loss.
“Any decision taken by Pablo Rodriguez currently has absolutely nothing to do with the results in LaSalle—Émard,” Miller told reporters.
Earlier Thursday, Duclos said his party is “obviously very grateful” for the work Rodriguez has done for the country and Quebec, and that his departure “leaves a hole.”
“He is a very important man for our cabinet and our caucus, but there (are) a lot of other MPs and ministers that stay behind and will keep fighting for the interests of Quebecers and Canadians.”
The decision to appoint Anand to replace Rodriguez as transport minister, rather than adding someone new to cabinet to focus solely on the transport portfolio, was criticized by Conservatives Thursday.
“Unfortunately, this Liberal government’s response is to now have a part-time transportation minister,” Tory MP Philip Lawrence said at a House of Commons transport committee hearing on issues at Via Rail.
“So my question to the government is, when will they take transportation seriously?”
Rodriguez was previously the minister of Canadian Heritage, and was first elected in 2004. He was defeated in 2011 before winning back his seat in 2015.
The Quebec Liberals have been without a leader since Dominique Anglade resigned following her defeat in the 2022 provincial election.
Quebec Premier François Legault said the Bloc Québécois must vote to topple the federal Liberal government next week and trigger an election.
Legault called on Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon to summon the “courage” to ask the Bloc to support the expected Conservative non-confidence motion against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s minority government on Tuesday.
The Bloc and PQ, which both campaign for Quebec independence, are ideologically aligned and have historically worked together.
But moments later Bloc Leader Yves-François Blanchet said on X that he would not vote to topple Trudeau, saying he serves Quebecers “according to my own judgment.”
— with files from The Canadian Press