Pablo Rodriguez to sit as an Independent MP after resigning from Trudeau’s cabinet

Longtime cabinet minister Pablo Rodriguez will sit as an Independent MP after stepping down as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s transport minister and Quebec Lieutenant, CTV News has learned.

On Thursday, Rodriguez is expected to announce he will run for the leadership of the Quebec Liberal Party (PLQ).

First elected as an MP in 2004, he was defeated by the NDP’s Paulina Ayala during the Orange Wave.

Rodriguez won his seat back in 2015, and has since served as government house leader and heritage minister.

Federal MP Pablo Rodriguez pauses while speaking to reporters at the Liberal caucus retreat in Nanaimo, B.C., Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024.