Pierre Fitzgibbon, Quebec’s economy and energy minister, resigns

A major Quebec cabinet minister is stepping down.

Businessman-turned-politician Pierre Fitzgibbon, Quebec’s economy and energy minister, resigned Tuesday.

The news was first broken by La Presse and verified independently by multiple media outlets, including The Canadian Press.

Rumours had circulated for some time that Fitzgibbon, 69, wouldn’t finish his mandate, with the next provincial election scheduled for October 2026. But his departure was not expected so soon.

Fitzgibbon, who was known as a “superminister” because of the influence he held in cabinet and the importance of his portfolios, was leading the development of Quebec’s electric vehicle battery sector. He also tabled a new bill just before the end of the spring legislative session intended to boost energy production in the province. The bill is set to be debated this fall.

This resignation comes as Coalition Avenir Québec members are meeting in caucus in Rimouski this week to prepare for the parliamentary session.

Legault told reporters in Rimouski that Fitzgibbon would be addressing CAQ MNAs at a dinner Tuesday night. Fitzgibbon and Legault will then speak to the media Wednesday morning, according to the premier.

Marc Tanguay, interim leader of the Opposition Liberals, told reporters Fitzgibbon’s departure is a “heavy blow” for the CAQ, and leaves the government “without a captain” on issues of energy and the economy.

“With this departure, the CAQ is no longer the party of the economy,” said Liberal MNA Marwah Rizqy.

Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon said on X that Fitzgibbon is “jumping ship in the middle of a storm.”

“Clearly this was not expected today,” he later told reporters, adding that the CAQ is beginning to look like a “government at the end of its journey.”

Fitzgibbon has been a notable figure in François Legault’s CAQ cabinet since 2018.

He was first elected as the MNA for Terrebonne in 2018, and re-elected in 2022.

He previously served as managing partner at Partenaires Walter Capital, a private equity firm. He has also held various positions in finance, corporate development and business development. In the 1970s, he studied with Legault at HEC Montréal.

Karl Blackburn, president and CEO of the Conseil du patronat du Québec, thanked Fitzgibbon on X “for his commitment to the economic development of Quebec.” Fitzgibbon, he said, “understood entrepreneurs and the economy like few elected officials” in the National Assembly.

Despite being a political heavyweight and one of Legault’s most trusted ministers, Fitzgibbon has had a somewhat controversial political career. He has been the subject of several ethics investigations during his time in office, including one probe about his decision to invest $24 million in a company where there were links between a director at the time and the CAQ politician; Fitzgibbon was cleared of any wrongdoing.