Transport Minister Pablo Rodriguez to step down, will stay on as MP

Federal Transport Minister Pablo Rodriguez is set to announce he’s stepping down from cabinet and as the Quebec Lieutenant on Thursday, but he’ll remain an MP, CTV News has confirmed.

The longtime cabinet minister also plans to announce on Thursday he’s running for the leadership of the Quebec Liberal Party.

Rodriguez’s empty seat on the front bench will force a shift in the cabinet makeup while Prime Minister Justin Trudeau decides who will take over the transport and Quebec lieutenant responsibilities.

It also means the prime minister will have one fewer Quebec representative in his cabinet, a more damaging gap following the Liberals’ second major byelection loss in just three months. The Bloc Quebecois won the long-held Liberal seat in LaSalle—Émard—Verdun on Monday, which had been left open following the resignation of former justice minister David Lametti.

Public Services and Procurement Minister Jean-Yves Duclos told reporters on his way into the Liberal caucus meeting on Wednesday that he has “profound gratitude” to Rodriguez for all the work he’s done in his various portfolios.

Duclos pointed specifically to Quebec infrastructure projects — such as the controversial and storied Quebec tramway — as examples of progress Rodriguez made in his transport minister role.

“We’re obviously very grateful for all that he has done for our country and for our province, in my region in particular, over the last few years,” Duclos said.

“Obviously, he leaves a hole, he’s a very important member of our cabinet and our caucus, but there are a lot of other MPs and ministers who are staying behind and will keep fighting for the interests of Quebecers and Canadians,” he added.

Rodriguez represents the Montreal-area riding of Honoré-Mercier and has served as transport minister since last summer’s cabinet shuffle.

First elected as an MP in 2004, he was defeated by the NDP’s Paulina Ayala during the Orange Wave.

Rodriguez then won his seat back in 2015, and has since served as government house leader, and heritage minister.

While Rodriguez is stepping down from his cabinet position to focus on provincial politics, he’s also the latest in a growing number of high-profile Liberals moving away from the federal party.

Former labour minister Seamus O’Regan also announced in July he was stepping down from cabinet and would not seek re-election.

Rodriguez’s expected run for the Quebec Liberal Party is to replace former leader Dominique Anglade, who stepped down in late 2022, a month after the party’s provincial election loss to Premier François Legault’s Coalition Avenir Quebec.

Members are set to vote on a new leader at their party convention next June.

With files from CTV News Chief Political Correspondent Vassy Kapelos