Former Justin Trudeau cabinet minister Pablo Rodriquez wins Quebec Liberal leadership
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The Quebec Liberals have chosen longtime federal politician Pablo Rodriguez to lead the provincial party on Saturday and to carry it into the October 2026 provincial election.
The ex-federal Liberal cabinet minister won the party's leadership contest Saturday after two rounds of voting, beating out Charles Milliard, former head of the Federation of Quebec Chambers of Commerce with just over 52 per cent of votes cast.
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Montreal Gazette
2 hours ago
- Montreal Gazette
Profile: Quebec Liberal Leader Pablo Rodriguez joined party's youth wing at 16
Quebec Politics By Pablo Rodriguez, 57, was a federal Liberal MP from 2004 to 2011 and from 2015 to Sept. 19, 2024, at which point he decided to sit as an independent while he prepared to launch his bid for the Quebec Liberal leadership, which he won Saturday in Quebec City. During his term in office, he represented the Montreal riding of Honoré-Mercier and held several key roles in then-prime minister Justin Trudeau's cabinet, including as transport minister and minister of Canadian heritage. He also served as government whip and house leader as well as Trudeau's Quebec lieutenant. He is the son of immigrants. When he was eight, his family fled the military junta in Argentina to settle in Quebec. His parents spoke only Spanish. Rodriguez learned French while playing hockey with friends in the arenas of Sherbrooke. It was at the Université de Sherbrooke that he obtained a BA in business administration, starting his career in the field of international development for a Montreal-based NGO. He became a member of the Quebec Liberal Party youth wing at age 16, rising to the post of vice-president. He travelled around Quebec as youth spokesperson for the No camp in the 1995 referendum campaign on independence. Rodriguez and his spouse, Roxane, have one child, Béatrice. Rodriguez is fluent in French and English as well as Spanish. Considered the front-runner in the race for the Quebec Liberal leadership because his political experience gave him a higher visibility than the other candidates, Rodriguez has in the past defended reforms to the Official Languages Act, which recognized French is a vulnerable language. He has also denounced American companies that have complained about French language sign rules, saying they need to adapt. Rodriguez has said he would drop the Coalition Avenir Québec's freeze on CEGEP enrolment included in Bill 96 overhauling the Charter of the French Language, as well as dropping the six-month deadline for immigrants to learn French. At the May English all-candidates debate at John-Abbott College, Rodriguez said French is the official language of Quebec, but there is no need to protect it by attacking the English-speaking community. 'We will always protect French, but not by being against the English community. A Quebecer is a Quebecer is a Quebecer.' He has said win or lose the leadership, he would run for the Liberals in 2026. He has not said where he would run, but said he is mulling over either a riding in the Eastern Townships or Montreal. This story was originally published June 14, 2025 at 5:29 PM.
Montreal Gazette
2 hours ago
- Montreal Gazette
Analysis: New Quebec Liberal leader Pablo Rodriguez has his work cut out for him
Quebec Politics By QUEBEC — Now comes the hard part. In winning the Quebec Liberal leadership Saturday in the second round of voting, with 52.3 per cent of the vote versus runner-up Charles Milliard's 47.7 per cent, Pablo Rodriguez takes on the stewardship of Quebec's oldest political party, which was founded in 1867 and has governed Quebec for much of its contemporary history. Today that party is at a crossroads — a victim of Quebec's multi-party system, which has muddled the voting patterns from the days when the Liberals thrived by selling themselves as a mixture of economic stability and a bulwark against referendums on independence. After losing the 2018 general election to the Coalition Avenir Québec — which promised a third option beyond federalism and sovereignty, based on economic growth and nationalism — the Liberals did worse in 2022, earning less than 15 per cent of the vote and a mere 21 seats. Without the support of non-francophone minority voters in the Montreal region, which helped the party earn more seats, the Liberals today would not have the title of the official opposition in the National Assembly. Enter Rodriguez, a former federal cabinet minister from the Justin Trudeau years. In electing Rodriguez as leader Saturday over the other candidates in the race, the Liberals decided he is the one to end their long walk in the political hinterland. They believed his promise of a return to power. Throughout the long leadership race, he reminded them that he was the only one of the five candidates with extensive political experience, as a former transport and Canadian heritage minister and political organizer. He was also Trudeau's Quebec lieutenant from 2019 to 2024. And Rodriguez didn't hesitate to mention he was better known than the other candidates, highlighting a Léger poll from May showing the Liberals under his leadership would come out ahead of the soaring Parti Québécois and drooping CAQ. 'Becoming leader of the Quebec Liberals is an incredible honour,' Rodriguez, 57, said in his victory speech Saturday. 'It's the honour of a lifetime. 'One race has ended today and another (the 2026 election) starts right away. Are you ready?' But what lies ahead for Rodriguez in the short and long term? For one thing, he has to quickly get a better grasp of how the Quebec government works. Far off in Ottawa, federal politicians rarely have to address the details of how health and education services are delivered to the people, sticking to big-picture policies. Rodriguez will be facing seasoned politicians like Premier François Legault, Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon and Québec solidaire co-spokesperson Ruba Ghazal, all of whom have a much firmer grasp on these issues and are ready to skewer the newbie when he trips up. His federal Liberal roots will make him an easy target, and they won't hesitate to portray his arrival as a federal takeover of the Quebec Liberal 'branch plant.' 'I'm my own man and will be judged on my own decisions, my team, my program,' Rodriguez responded Saturday to reporters. There is also the matter of a seat in the Quebec legislature. Rodriguez does not have one. That will limit his media visibility and ability to impose his leadership on the 19-member Liberal caucus. Participating in the cut and thrust of daily question period — something he can't do without a seat — is good practice for those televised election campaign debates he will face in the 2026 election. There were rumours flying at the Liberal convention Saturday that Rodriguez would ask St-Laurent MNA Marwah Rizqy, who has announced she will not run in 2026, to leave earlier and free up a riding. But Rodriguez does not appear to be in a hurry to get into the legislature. The advantage of staying away for now is he will have time to rebuild the party in the regions, which is key to shoring up support with francophone voters. In the last two elections, francophone voters turned to the CAQ. They decide who gets elected in Quebec because they dominate the vote in most of the 125 ridings. In the May Léger poll, the Liberals were polling at 10 per cent in this voting group. 'The Liberals need to reconnect with francophone voters,' Université Laval political science professor Éric Montigny said in an interview. 'That implies (the party) renewing itself with a certain nationalism without alienating its current base. 'It also needs to beef up its economic credo and propose audacious ideas. In a multi-party system, it can no longer count on the fear of the PQ to get itself elected.' The Liberals undertook just such a reboot after the 2022 election, led by former senator André Pratte and Bourassa-Sauvé MNA Madwa-Nika Cadet. The party approved a new program that, among other things, called for the drafting of a Quebec constitution to defend Quebec's interests in the federation. Seen as an effort to shore up nationalist votes, none of the candidates in the leadership race aside from Mario Roy said a Quebec constitution would be a priority for them. The challenge is great, the landscape ever shifting. In recent weeks, Legault himself has been adjusting his message to counter the surging PQ, which, for the moment, represents a greater threat to him than the Liberals. Aligning himself with Prime Minister Mark Carney, Legault has been saying only a CAQ government can protect the Quebec economy from U.S. tariffs, and that means working closely with the federal government — something the PQ is not interested in doing. Stopping short of calling himself a federalist, Legault said the PQ's plan to hold another referendum on sovereignty could not come at a worse time. 'Imagine if Paul St-Pierre Plamondon was in my place tomorrow morning,' Legault told Radio-Canada as the legislature recessed for the summer on June 6. 'He only wants to demonstrate that Canada does not work.' Rodriguez will have to find a way to counter Legault's scheme, which taps into the Liberals' federalist bread and butter. Some veteran Liberals remain optimistic about the party's brand despite its poor performance in recent years. A key argument rests on the party's ability to create a bigger tent than the CAQ or PQ can, they say. 'Quebecers are thirsty for leadership — a leadership that is not one of turning inwards,' former premier Jean Charest told Liberals in a speech Saturday. 'Quebecers want us to reconnect with all of Quebec, whether you live in Montreal or the regions, whether you speak English or French. 'More than ever, what we need is to be together.' 'There's a change in the political dynamic that leaves room for the Liberal party,' former premier Philippe Couillard said Saturday in an interview at the leadership convention. 'There have been highs and lows (for the party historically). We have always come through them.'
Calgary Herald
13 hours ago
- Calgary Herald
Kennedy-Glans: First Nations are mired in 'soft communism.' This leader has the fix
Article content Stephen Buffalo is a very constructive guy. He's a man who seeks solutions, and he's open to Prime Minister Mark Carney's ambitious nation-building campaign. He also wants Carney and all Canadians to understand, though: Indigenous consent to these projects has a price tag. Article content 'Give us a chance to make our own wealth,' says Stephen, long-time advocate for First Nations' economic development and member of the Samson Cree Nation from Maskwacis, Alta. Article content Article content Article content 'To be part of the mainstream and part of the economy and at the end of the day, everyone benefits: the proponent benefits, the government benefits, and we benefit, you know, First Nations that are participating.' Article content Article content The 'new' Liberal government has pledged — in the recently tabled 'One Canadian Economy Act' — to speed up approvals for major energy and infrastructure projects that strengthen Canada's autonomy, resilience and security, have undeniable national benefits, are likely to be successfully executed, drive Canada's clean grown potential and reflect priorities of Indigenous leaders. Article content Carney assured that fast-tracking major projects won't shortcut meaningful consultation with Indigenous peoples whose Charter or treaty rights may be affected. A Major Projects Office, created to assist project proponents through the assessment and consultation process, will lean on an Indigenous advisory council for advice. Article content Article content And in an effort to reinforce Indigenous voice in governance, Carney's cabinet includes three Indigenous ministers: Rebecca Chartrand, as minister of northern and Arctic affairs; Mandy Gull-Masty, as minister of Indigenous services; and Buckley Belanger, as secretary of state for rural development. Article content Article content I ask Stephen: Do Carney's announcements signal real change in the federal government's paternalistic relationship with Indigenous communities? After watching the undermining of Jody Wilson-Raybould's leadership by the previous Liberal administration, I'm wary. Article content This isn't the first time I've sat down with Stephen for a no-holds-barred conversation about how Indigenous leaders perceive what's going on in the world. As CEO of the Indian Resource Council, Stephen speaks on behalf of 130 First Nations across Canada that have oil and gas production on their land, or the potential for production. He also speaks forcefully — as a 53-year-old father who wants to see his kids have the opportunity to thrive in mainstream society.
