Quebec 'superminister' Pierre Fitzgibbon says drop in motivation is why he's leaving

Quebec "superminister" Pierre Fitzgibbon says he is leaving office because he lost motivation to do the job -- and that it was the premier who pushed him out the door months earlier than planned.

Fitzgibbon, who held the economy and energy portfolios, told reporters in Rimouski, Que., Wednesday that he's quitting two years ahead of the provincial election -- and right before hearings are to begin on his massive energy reform bill.

"When you feel that you no longer have the same enthusiasm despite the super interesting projects, well, you tell yourself, 'maybe it's time to leave and make room for others,"' Fitzgibbon told reporters.

He said he had planned to stay until December to help move his energy reform bill through the legislature but Premier Francois Legault wanted him to leave immediately so that he doesn't become a distraction.

Standing next to Fitzgibbon at the Wednesday morning news conference, Legault said he wanted to avoid having to answer questions about the eventual departure of one of his most important ministers.

"It becomes difficult from a legitimacy standpoint when you announce that you're eventually leaving. I wasn't comfortable with that," Legault said, as members of his Coalition Avenir Quebec caucus gathered in the town to prepare for the fall session of the legislature, which begins Tuesday.

On the upcoming legislative agenda is Fitzgibbon's energy reform bill, which makes sweeping changes to the way the province's hydro utility operates and how electricity rates will be fixed, among other major changes.

Fitzgibbon -- often called a "superminister" because of his power and influence over the economy -- introduced the legislation in June. Now, he says he has started to feel "a certain decline" in his motivation.

The departure comes at a delicate time for the Coalition Avenir Quebec, forcing Legault to reshuffle his cabinet and call a byelection in Fitzgibbon's riding amid a resurgent Parti Quebecois led by Paul St-Pierre Plamondon.

Fitzgibbon, 69, said he does not yet know where he is heading next but ruled out taking a job in media or as a lobbyist. And he said he is leaving with his head held high: "Honestly, after six years (devoted to politics), I feel very good about myself."

"The results are in, the Quebec economy is doing well," he said, calling his tenure in office an "extraordinary adventure," and "by far the best job I've ever had."

Fitzgibbon was first elected in 2018 in the riding of Terrebonne, northeast of Montreal. He previously served as managing partner at Partenaires Walter Capital, a private equity firm. He has also held various positions in finance, corporate development and business development. In the 1970s, he studied with Legault at HEC Montreal, a top business school.

Legault praised Fitzgibbon as a "genius of financial transactions," and touted what he said were the minister's achievements in reducing the wealth gap between Quebec and the rest of Canada, developing the province's electric battery industry and reforming Quebec's economic development agency known as Investissement Quebec.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 4, 2024.