Pablo Rodriguez announces run for Quebec Liberal Party leadership
Pablo Rodriguez has resigned as Canada's transport minister and the government's Quebec lieutenant so he can run for leadership of the provincial Liberal party.
A senior government official told The Canadian Press that a new transport minister will be installed at a ceremony at Rideau Hall this afternoon.
Rodriguez says he's also leaving Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal caucus so that he can set his own priorities and focus on Quebec.
He plans to sit as an independent member of Parliament until next January, saying that will avoid an expensive byelection so close to the next federal election.
Rodriguez says he doesn't want an election right away and will vote against the non-confidence motion the Conservatives plan to introduce next week.
His resignation comes the same week as the Liberals lost a key byelection in a stronghold riding in Montreal to the Bloc Quebecois.
Pablo Rodriguez announces his resignation as transport minister as his wife Roxane Hardy and daughter Beatrice stand beside him in Gatineau on Thursday, September 19, 2024. (Adrian Wyld, The Canadian Press)
He will become the fifth candidate to enter the race to find Dominique Anglade's successor.
The other announced candidates are former Montreal mayor Denis Coderre, former president and CEO of the Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec Charles Milliard, tax lawyer Marc Bélanger and Liberal MNA Frédéric Beauchemin.
Rodriguez already has the support of Liberal MNA Désirée McGraw.
The race officially begins in January 2025. The new Liberal leader will be chosen in the summer of that year.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Sept. 19, 2024.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard found not guilty of sexual assault
Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard has been found not guilty of sexually assaulting a young woman in northeastern Ontario eight years ago. The former Hedley frontman had pleaded not guilty to sexual assault.
Police arrest Toronto woman in connection with three recent homicides
Police have arrested a Toronto woman in connection with three recent homicides and investigators say that they believe two of the victims may have been 'randomly targeted.'
Following child's death in Ontario, here's what you need to know about rabies and bats
An Ontario child died last month after coming into contact with a rabid bat in their bedroom, which was the first known human rabies case in Canada since 2019.
A French judge in a shocking rape case allows the public to see some of the video evidence
A French judge in the trial of dozens of men accused of raping an unconscious woman whose now former husband had repeatedly drugged her so that he and others could assault her decided on Friday to allow the public to see some of the video recordings of the alleged rapes.
Former Colorado county clerk Tina Peters sentenced to 9 years for voting data scheme
A judge ripped into a Colorado county clerk for her crimes and lies before sentencing her Thursday to nine years behind bars for a data-breach scheme spawned from the rampant false claims about voting machine fraud in the 2020 presidential race.
NDP house leader laments 'agents of chaos' in precarious Parliament
NDP House leader Peter Julian says there's more his party wants to do in Parliament before the next election, but if the current dysfunction continues it will become a factor in how they vote on a confidence measure.
Youth pleads guilty to manslaughter in death of P.E.I. teen Tyson MacDonald
A teen charged with the murder of another teen on Prince Edward Island last year has pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter.
Here's what the jury didn't hear in Jacob Hoggard's sexual assault trial
A northeastern Ontario jury has started deliberating in Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard's sexual assault trial, we can now tell you what they weren't allowed to hear.
2 dead after fire rips through historic building in Old Montreal
At least two people are dead and others are injured after a fire ripped through a century-old building in Old Montreal early Friday morning, sources told Noovo Info.