Quebec Liberal Leader Pablo Rodriguez not planning to run in byelection

The newly elected leader of the Quebec Liberal Party does not plan to run in a byelection in order to enter the National Assembly as quickly as possible.

Instead, Pablo Rodriguez plans to travel across Quebec in the coming months to rebuild his party in preparation for the 2026 election.

READ: ‘We want to build the Quebec of tomorrow’: Pablo Rodriguez chosen as leader of Quebec Liberals

A rumoUr was circulating for some time suggesting that Marwah Rizqy, the Liberal MNA for Saint-Laurent who has already announced she will not seek re-election in 2026, may have given up her seat to the new leader.

Rizqy supported the former federal minister for the leadership.

However, in an interview with The Canadian Press on Monday, Rodriguez said this option was not being considered.

“Between now and the next election, I will continue to travel across Quebec, talking with Quebecers from all regions,” he said. “That’s my priority.”

The former federal Liberal cabinet minister still plans to appear regularly at the Quebec legislature to give press conferences.

The Quebec election will take place in less than a year-and-a-half, and the leader must also recruit candidates.

At the same time, he indicated he will “regularly” hold press briefings at the National Assembly to speak with journalists.

Rodriguez was elected leader of the Quebec Liberals on Saturday after two rounds of vote tabulation. He received 52.3 per cent of the points. Charles Milliard finished second with 47.7 per cent.

The new leader said he wanted his party to regain the title of party of the economy, which was ceded in recent years to Premier François Legault’s Coalition Avenir Québec.

During the campaign, his adversaries criticized Rodriguez’s lack of economic credentials and pointed out his long stint in federal politics under former prime minister Justin Trudeau, whose government posted record deficits.

But Rodriguez brushed those concerns aside. 

“People say I’m not the economic candidate,” Rodriguez said. “(Former Liberal premiers) Jean Charest and Philippe Couillard weren’t either. What they did was assemble a strong economic team.”

He said Milliard and Karl Blackburn, who finished third, both have economic backgrounds, and said he had high hopes that they would continue with the party.

Rodriguez did not say how many years he would take to balance the budget, if his party wins in 2026. Legault’s government posted a record $13.6-billion deficit this year.

He said budget management would be done gradually and “in a responsible way” to avoid harmful cuts. 

He also didn’t rule out reducing the number of public employees, but excluded cutting doctors, nurses or teachers.

Rodriguez also questioned the Quebec government’s decision to go ahead with a new bridge and tunnel connecting Quebec City with its South Shore. The province’s transport minister has said she wants the project to be made irreversible so it can’t be cancelled if another party wins the next election.

“I can’t believe that François Legault’s government is going to want to take Quebecers hostage in this way, tying the hands of a future government with a project about which we know almost nothing,” Rodriguez said.

Born in Argentina, Rodriguez arrived in Quebec at eight years old. He grew up in Sherbrooke and served as a federal Liberal MP for the Montreal riding of Honoré-Mercier. 

He notably served as minister of Canadian heritage and minister of transport under Justin Trudeau.

During the leadership race, Rodriguez presented himself as an experienced candidate capable of defeating both Legault and Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, who has been leading in the polls for months.

A recent Léger poll found that with Rodriguez as leader, the Liberals would win 31 per cent of the vote in a provincial election, one point ahead of the Parti Québécois. 

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews