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federal minister pablo rodriguez mulls run for leadership of quebec liberals
currently the trudeau government's quebec lieutenant, he was a member of the provincial liberals' youth wing in the 1990s.
aug 4 2024
3 minute read
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quebec — in another twist on a race that has yet to officially kick off, federal transport minister pablo rodriguez is mulling a possible run for the leadership of the quebec liberal party .
one of prime minister justin trudeau’s more popular quebec mps, rodriguez has come under increased pressure in the last few weeks from some provincial liberals who see him as an ideal candidate for leader.
on monday, sources confirmed a weekend report by radio-canada that rodriguez has quietly been testing the waters in the party ranks about a shift to provincial politics.
there were reports rodriguez would be making an announcement this week, but other sources indicated it might only happen later.
either way, his name comes as a surprise in discussions about the leadership and has already created a buzz in the party. for months, the federal liberal many quebec liberals had hoped would run was innovation, science and industry minister françois-philippe champagne .
champagne has said repeatedly that he is happy in ottawa, even if the federal liberals’ fortunes don’t look rosy given the rise of the conservatives.
rodriguez fits the bill for many quebec liberals. as trudeau’s quebec lieutenant, he knows the province’s issues very well. he is considered a strong organizer and an excellent communicator — key qualities for whoever takes on the coalition avenir québec.
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he is the son of argentine immigrants, studied at the université de sherbrooke, and was a member of the quebec liberal youth wing in the 1990s. he is fluent in english, french and spanish and represents the montreal riding of honoré-mercier.
on the other hand, if rodriguez became party leader, he would find himself defending the federal liberals’ record over the last nine years when it comes to how ottawa has dealt with quebec.
he has also defended recent reforms to the official languages act, such as the recognition that french is endangered, including in quebec. he has added ottawa is there for both francophone and anglophone minority communities in canada.
in january, faced with grumblings from washington over quebec’s new commercial sign regulations , rodriguez said americans will just have to “adapt.”
he said “anyone who wants to come here” to do business must “understand that it’s done in french.”
asked about the possibility of running by the gazette, rodriguez’s office issued a statement sunday in which he ruled nothing out.
“the minister has stated that, as minister of transport and quebec lieutenant in the trudeau government, he is proud to work relentlessly every day for the good of quebecers and all canadians,” the statement said.
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“he is sincerely touched by the many requests he has received to go back to where it all began for him.”
the next quebec liberal leader, who will be the successor to dominique anglade , will be selected on june 14, 2025.
so far, the only confirmed candidate for the job is former montreal mayor denis coderre , who is also a former federal liberal minister.
the list of people mulling a leadership run also includes liberal mna frédéric beauchemin , who represents the montreal riding of marguerite-bourgeoys.
another potential candidate is charles milliard, former president of the fédération des chambres de commerce du québec . while he said he was taking the summer to reflect, milliard has been very visible on social media in the last few weeks.
he told radio-canada on sunday he is now more “in preparation mode” than in “reflection mode.”
victoriaville mayor antoine tardif is also under pressure from some liberals to run.
the leadership campaign doesn’t officially launch until january. meanwhile, all eyes will be on saturday’s annual meeting of the quebec liberal youth wing in montreal.
many of the potential candidates are expected to make an appearance to court the youth wing, which retains one-third of the votes for party leadership.
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