“Super Minister” Pierre Fitzgibbon resigns

The Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) government has lost one of its heavyweights.

“Super Minister” Pierre Fitzgibbon resigns. Radio-Canada confirmed the news, first revealed by The Press.

Mr. Fitzgibbon will leave all of his positions this week. He is currently Minister of Economy, Innovation and Energy, Minister responsible for Regional Economic Development and Minister responsible for the Metropolis and the Montreal region. He is also the MNA for Terrebonne.

The main person concerned made the announcement on Tuesday afternoon to his colleagues in the Council of Ministers. He will answer questions from journalists on Wednesday, while the caucus of the CAQ will be gathered in Rimouski.

I will meet you tomorrow morning with Pierre Fitzgibbon to give you all the details.Prime Minister François Legault was limited to saying on Tuesday afternoon, specifying that the main person concerned would first address the deputies on Tuesday evening as part ofa dinner that had been planned for a long time.

The departure of Pierre Fitzgibbon will force Mr. Legault to reshuffle his Cabinet. And to trigger a by-election in Terrebonne, at a time when the Parti Québécois (PQ) is leading in voting intentions.

Behind the scenes, there is talk of François Legault redistributing Mr. Fitzgibbon’s responsibilities to a cabinet minister who would in turn see his or her ministerial responsibilities transferred to another minister. There is also talk of François Legault becoming more directly involved in the Hydro-Québec file – in collaboration with the new Minister of Energy – given the importance of the issue.

Everything will be made official on Thursday, when the swearing-in is scheduled to take place in Quebec.

Pierre Fitzgibbon had been hinting at the possibility of leaving before the end of his term for some time. Generally quite direct in his answers to journalists, he nevertheless remained rather vague when asked about his political future.

The minister will ultimately have chosen to bow out a few days before the resumption of parliamentary work, while the 88 members of the CAQ government will be meeting until Thursday in Bas-Saint-Laurent to prepare for the parliamentary session next Tuesday.

Pierre Fitzgibbon, 69, is stepping down as his energy bill is set to be examined in parliamentary committee starting next week. The government says the bulky piece of legislation is designed to help Quebec achieve its energy production and transition goals.

According to our sources, the announcement of his departure took his colleagues by surprise. Many suspected that this was his last term, but they believed that the announcement of his departure would come later.

Mr. Fitzgibbon has been the Member of Parliament for Terrebonne since 2018. He notably worked as Minister of Economy and Innovation during the first mandate of the CAQ in government, before being entrusted with the Energy portfolio following the general elections in October 2022.

No quarrel with François Legault

According to our information, Pierre Fitzgibbon is not leaving political life to join a company or another organization, at least in the short term.

Nor is his departure the result of a disagreement with Premier Legault. Mr. Fitzgibbon reportedly told Mr. Legault over the weekend that he wanted to leave by December at the latest, but the premier reportedly advised him to do so right away, to avoid distractions in the middle of a parliamentary session and to have a minister who was aware of the issues to lead the energy bill.

In an interview early Tuesday at All one morningMr. Fitzgibbon had given no indication that his resignation was imminent, saying only that he remained hopeful that the government’s investment in Northvolt would benefit Quebec despite the headwind which is blowing these days on the electric battery industry.

What are we going to do next week?

The leader of the official opposition in the National Assembly, Marc Tanguay, praised Pierre Fitzgibbon’s commitment on Tuesday, while questioning the timing of the man’s decision to leave office.

Mr. Fitzbbon, who has been working for two years on the energy sector reform, Bill 69, is resigning one week before the start of special consultations on the said bill, he stressed on the sidelines of the pre-sessional meeting of the Liberal caucus in Gatineau.

Who will be able to answer our questions next Tuesday? he asked, pointing out that the government had lost his conductor, his quarterback in terms of economy, innovation and energy.

Liberal MP Marwah Rizqy goes even further, calling for Bill 69 to be abandoned. She finds it hard to imagine participating in a parliamentary committee on a monumental bill that concerns the energy future of Quebec before a new minister who did not draft the legislative document. Honestly, it doesn’t make any sense.she says to the 15-18 at ICI Première.

This is not seriousagreed PQ leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, whose caucus is meeting this week in Rouyn-Noranda. What are we going to do next week? he also asked himself.

Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon maintains that before Mr. Fitzgibbon’s arrival at the head of the Ministry of Energy, Quebec had a significant energy surplus that the CAQ a squandered in the selling at a discount to big business and the United States.

We must therefore work this fall on a bill on the energy future of Quebec following a situation that Pierre Fitzgibbon himself created, but he will no longer be here.he added.

For his part, Québec solidaire’s spokesperson for the economy, innovation and energy, Haroun Bouazzi, believes that Mr. Fitzgibbon’s departure comes at a time when Northvolt is in trouble, with the minister selling off all available megawatts to foreign multinationals in a rapid manner and the mega-energy bill receiving criticism from all sides.

With information from Sébastien Bovet and Véronique Prince