Pablo Rodriguez leaves cabinet, Liberal caucus

Treasury Board President Anita Anand is set to take on the additional role of transport minister on Thursday after Pablo Rodriguez resigned from the federal cabinet to run for the Quebec Liberal leadership.

Rodriguez made a symbolic walk from Parliament Hill to Gatineau, Que., over the Alexandra Bridge on Thursday morning, where he announced he’s also leaving Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s caucus.

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.”

A senior government source who was not authorized to speak publicly said Anand will be sworn in at a small ceremony at Rideau Hall on Thursday afternoon.

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The source also said Public Services and Procurement Minister Jean-Yves Duclos will become the government’s new Quebec lieutenant. He was not expected to be at the ceremony because that is not an official role in cabinet.

Rodriguez said he will stay on as an MP until the Quebec Liberal leadership campaign officially launches in January.

He said that will “avoid a costly byelection a few weeks, or months, before a general election.”

The next federal election must be held by October 2025, but the end of the supply-and-confidence deal between the Liberals and the NDP this month has increased the chances that the minority government will be toppled before then.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said he will try to do just that with a non-confidence motion in the House of Commons, which is set to be debated next Tuesday and voted on the following day. Poilievre has called on the NDP and the Bloc Québécois to support him, but neither opposition party has said they plan to do so.

Rodriguez said he doesn’t want a federal election right away and will vote against the non-confidence motion.

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 Québécois.

By Nojoud Al Mallees and Sarah Ritchie