Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s political lieutenant for Quebec and federal Transport Minister, Pablo Rodriguez, says he still hasn’t decided whether he will run for the leadership of the Quebec Liberal Party (PLQ), adding he’s comfortable leaving the suspense hanging as he rubbed shoulders with his colleagues during a three-day federal cabinet retreat.
“I’m very comfortable,” he insisted to journalists who questioned him in Halifax on Monday.
Pressed to find out why he is taking so long to make his move, Rodriguez explains that he has nothing to announce just yet.
“You know me,” he said. “You know me very well. I’m always very direct. I come to see you. I like to see you. I never hide, and I come to see you when I have things to say.”
He refused to answer when asked if he was waiting until after the byelection in the Montreal riding of LaSalle-Émard-Verdun, a stronghold that the Liberals cannot afford to lose, to announce his decision.
“I want to salute our candidate in LaSalle-Émard-Verdun, who is truly excellent. (…) I had the chance to go door-to-door with her, a person who is really in touch with the realities on the ground, who is close to her people, who understands local issues,” he said.
Questioned earlier in the morning, Trudeau noted that, “Pablo will make his own decisions.”
This comes amid debat over what it means to have an influential minister who may seriously be considering stepping down.
“It doesn’t say much about everyone,” said Trudeau. “Everyone will make their own choice.”
Federal Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, François-Philippe Champagne, adds that “it takes strong voices from Quebec in Ottawa to move Quebec and the whole country forward.”
— This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Aug. 26, 2024.