GATINEAU, Que. — A new transport minister will be sworn in at Rideau Hall on Thursday afternoon after Pablo Rodriguez resigned from cabinet and quit the Liberal caucus to turn his attention to Quebec provincial politics.
Rodriguez made a symbolic walk from Parliament Hill to Gatineau, Que., over the Alexandra Bridge on Thursday morning, where he announced he’s leaving Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s caucus to run for the Quebec Liberal leadership. He said sitting as an Independent member of Parliament will allow him to focus on his own priorities.
“I was defending the priorities of the government, and I did it in a very loyal way,” he said. “It’s normal and it’s what I had to do. But now it’s more about my vision, the vision of the team that I’m building.”
He said he will stay on as an MP until the Quebec Liberal leadership campaign officially launches in January.
Rodriguez said that will “avoid a costly byelection a few weeks, or months, before a general election.”
He said he doesn’t want a federal election right away and will vote against the non-confidence motion the Conservatives plan to introduce next week.
As for how he would vote on other matters before the House of Commons, “it would depend on the votes.”
His resignation comes the same week as the Liberals lost a key byelection in a stronghold riding in Montreal to the Bloc Quebecois.
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