Pablo Rodriguez (Canadian politician)

(Redirected from Pablo Rodríguez (Canadian politician)) Canadian-Argentine politician (born 1967)

The HonourablePablo RodriguezPC MP
Rodriguez in 2023

Minister of Transport
In office July 26, 2023 – September 19, 2024
Prime Minister	Justin Trudeau
Preceded by	Omar Alghabra
Succeeded by	Anita Anand
Minister of Canadian Heritage (Canadian Heritage and Multiculturalism; 2018–2019)
In office October 26, 2021 – July 26, 2023
Prime Minister	Justin Trudeau
Preceded by	Steven Guilbeault
Succeeded by	Pascale St-Onge
In office July 18, 2018 – November 20, 2019
Preceded by	Mélanie Joly
Succeeded by	Steven Guilbeault (Canadian Heritage) Marco Mendicino (Multiculturalism)
Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
In office November 20, 2019 – October 26, 2021
Prime Minister	Justin Trudeau
Preceded by	Bardish Chagger
Succeeded by	Mark Holland
Chief Government Whip
In office January 30, 2017 – August 31, 2018
Prime Minister	Justin Trudeau
Preceded by	Andrew Leslie
Succeeded by	Mark Holland
Member of Parliament for Honoré-Mercier
Incumbent
Assumed office October 19, 2015
Preceded by	Paulina Ayala
In office June 28, 2004 – May 2, 2011
Preceded by	Yvon Charbonneau
Succeeded by	Paulina Ayala

Personal details
Born	(1967-06-21) June 21, 1967 (age 57) San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina
Nationality	Canadian Argentine
Political party	Independent (since 2024)
Other political affiliations	Quebec Liberal Liberal (until 2024)
Spouse	Roxane Hardy
Residence(s)	Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Alma mater	University of Sherbrooke (BBA)
Profession	Communication consultant

Pablo Rodriguez PC MP (born June 21, 1967) is a Canadian-Argentine politician. He previously served as Canada's minister of Transport from 2023 to 2024, minister of Canadian Heritage (Canadian Heritage and Multiculturalism; 2018–2019), the Government Chief Whip, and Leader of the Government in the House of Commons. Additionally, he was his party's Quebec lieutenant from 2019 until 2024. He represents Honoré-Mercier in the House of Commons as an independent.

Rodriguez resigned from cabinet and the federal Liberal caucus on September 19, 2024, in order to run for the leadership of the Quebec Liberal Party. He will continue to sit in the House of Commons as an independent until the Quebec Liberal leadership campaign period starts in January 2025.

Early life and career

Rodriguez was born on June 21, 1967, in San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina. When he was eight, Rodriguez's family fled to Canada after their home was bombed during the Dirty War, and his father was repeatedly jailed and tortured for his activism.

Prior to entering politics, Rodriguez, who has a degree in business administration from the University of Sherbrooke, worked in public affairs and international development for a Montreal-based NGO.

He was the Vice President of Oxfam Québec from 2000 to 2004.

Federal politics

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Opposition MP

Rodriguez was elected as a Liberal to the House of Commons of Canada for the Quebec riding of Honoré-Mercier in 2004, 2006 and 2008. For most of his first stint in Parliament, he was the only Liberal representing a riding in eastern Montreal, a longstanding stronghold for the Bloc Québecois.

Rodriguez was chair of the Standing Committee on Official Languages, the Official Opposition’s Critic for of the Francophonie and Official Languages, and Critic for Public Works and Government Services Canada. He has served on many committees of the House of Commons, including the Committee of Canadian Heritage, Official Languages and the Public Accounts Committee.

On February 14, 2007, a bill Rodriguez put forward was passed by the Commons that would give the Conservative government 60 days to come up with a plan to respect Canada's engagements under the Kyoto Protocol.

He is the Past President of the Quebec wing of the Liberal Party of Canada.

He was the Quebec Chair of Michael Ignatieff's candidacy in the 2006 Liberal Party of Canada leadership election.

Criminal charge

On April 16, 2010, Rodriguez was charged under the Criminal Code of Canada, after he collided his BMW with a parked car in Montreal. Police attending the crash reported Rodriguez had bloodshot eyes and alcohol on his breath, and during attempts to administer a breathalyzer test, Rodriguez "breathed very weakly and cut his breath repeatedly, all the while holding the plastic tip at the edge of his lips".

According to Rodriguez himself, "Because I'd consumed a moderate amount of wine during the previous supper, the police officer asked me to proceed with a breathalyzer test, using a hand-held machine, which I did without hesitation".

Despite the criminal charge, Rodriguez remained in the Liberal caucus.

In the 2011 election he was defeated by the New Democratic Party's Paulina Ayala amid the NDP's surge in Quebec.

In government

Rodriguez sought a rematch with Ayala in the 2015 election. Amid a Liberal surge almost as large as the NDP's surge four years earlier, he defeated Ayala to return to Parliament.

42nd Canadian Parliament

Rodriguez served as Chief Government Whip for a year and a half from January 30, 2017.

Rodriguez served in the 42nd Canadian Parliament as the Minister of Canadian Heritage from July 18, 2018 until dissolution of that government on November 20, 2019. One of his signature initiatives at Heritage was the expansion of the Canada Periodical Fund from magazine-format monthlies to daily broadsheets. This was announced in Bill Morneau's November 21, 2018 "fiscal update" as a $600-million slush fund over five years. The measure was widely applauded in the press "by an eclectic group of media outlets, including Postmedia, which owns the National Post, Torstar, which publishes the Toronto Star, SaltWire Network, and the CBC among others."

43rd Canadian Parliament

Rodriguez was re-elected in the 2019 federal election.

From formation on November 20, 2019 until dissolution, Rodriguez served as Leader of the Government in the House of Commons.

44th Canadian Parliament

After the 2021 election, Rodriguez was re-appointed as Minister of Canadian Heritage on October 26, 2021.

He introduced C-18 An Act respecting online communications platforms that make news content available to persons in Canada. It received Royal Assent on June 22, 2023. The bill, which would force tech giants to compensate news organizations. Both Google and Meta announced their exits. The Government has dismissed the complaints of the tech giants will have to pay exorbitant amounts of money and would face uncapped liability based on how many links are posted.

On July 26, 2023, Rodriguez was appointed Minister of Transport.

Switch to provincial politics

After weeks of speculation, Rodriguez announced on September 19, 2024 that he was resigning from the federal cabinet in order to run for the leadership of the Quebec Liberal Party, and would resign from the Liberal caucus to sit as an independent in order to have the flexibility to run his campaign as he saw fit. Rodriguez will sit as an independent MP until officially entering the race and resigning his seat in January 2025.

v t e 2021 Canadian federal election: Honoré-Mercier
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Pablo Rodríguez	29,033	60.0	+1.3	$39,670.10
	Bloc Québécois	Charlotte Lévesque-Marin	7,908	16.3	-3.5	$3,008.90
	Conservative	Guy Croteau	5,086	10.5	+0.9	$2,893.59
	New Democratic	Paulina Ayala	3,537	7.3	-0.9	$433.46
	People's	Lucilia Miranda	2,023	4.2	+3.3	$508.19
	Green	Bianca Deltorto-Russell	734	1.5	-1.2	$0.00
	Marxist–Leninist	Yves Le Seigle	88	0.2	+0.1	$0.00
Total valid votes/expense limit			48,409	98.0	–	$109,578.67
Total rejected ballots			971	2.0
Turnout			49,380	64.1
Registered voters			77,078
	Liberal hold		Swing		+2.4
Source: Elections Canada

Cabinet post (1)
29th Ministry – Cabinet of Justin Trudeau
Predecessor	Office	Successor
Mélanie Joly	Minister of Canadian Heritage and Multiculturalism July 18, 2018 – November 20, 2019	Steven Guilbeault

v t e Ministers of transport
Ministers of Railways and Canals (1879–1936)	Tupper Pope Macdonald Bowell (acting) Haggart Ouimet (acting) Haggart Blair Fielding (acting) Emmerson Fielding (acting) Graham Cochrane Reid Stewart Kennedy Graham Dunning Drayton (acting) Black Dunning Crerar Manion Howe
Ministers of Marine (1930–36)	Cardin Duranleau Gendron Howe
Ministers of Transport (1936–2006)	Howe Cardin Howe (acting) Michaud Chevrier Marler Hees Balcer McIlraith Pickersgill Hellyer Richardson (acting) Jamieson Marchand Lang Mazankowski Pépin Axworthy Mazankowski Crosbie Bouchard Lewis Corbeil Young Anderson Collenette Valeri Lapierre
Ministers of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities (2006–15)	Cannon Baird Strahl Lebel
Ministers of Transport (2015–present)	Raitt Garneau Alghabra Rodriguez Anand
The offices of Minister of Marine and Minister of Railways and Canals were abolished and the office of Minister of Transport was created in 1936

v t e 2019 Canadian federal election: Honoré-Mercier
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Pablo Rodríguez	29,543	58.66	+2.11	$45,514.73
	Bloc Québécois	Jacques Binette	9,979	19.81	+6.88	$7,951.83
	Conservative	Guy Croteau	4,808	9.55	-2.5	$3,314.94
	New Democratic	Chu Anh Pham	4,130	8.2	-8.21	none listed
	Green	Domenico Cusmano	1,373	2.73	+1.15	none listed
	People's	Patrick St-Onge	459	0.91	–	$2,885.14
	Marxist–Leninist	Yves Le Seigle	71	0.14	-0.02	$0.00
Total valid votes/expense limit			50,363	100.0
Total rejected ballots			1,013
Turnout			51,376	65.4
Eligible voters			78,549
	Liberal hold		Swing		-2.39
Source: Elections Canada

v t e 2011 Canadian federal election: Honoré-Mercier
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	New Democratic	Paulina Ayala	17,545	36.37	+26.26
	Liberal	Pablo Rodriguez	14,641	30.35	-13.32
	Bloc Québécois	Martin Laroche	8,935	18.52	-9.60
	Conservative	Gérard Labelle	5,992	12.42	-2.88
	Green	Gaëtan Bérard	770	1.60	-1.20
	Rhinoceros	Valery Chevrefils-Latulippe	181	0.38	–
	Marxist–Leninist	Jean-Paul Bédard	170	0.35	–
Total valid votes			48,234	100.00
Total rejected ballots			622	1.27	-0.06
Turnout			48,856	59.98	-2.18
	New Democratic gain from Liberal		Swing		+19.79

v t e 2008 Canadian federal election: Honoré-Mercier
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Pablo Rodríguez	21,544	43.67	+5.44	$64,461
	Bloc Québécois	Gérard Labelle	13,871	28.12	−6.71	$57,274
	Conservative	Rodrigo Alfaro	7,549	15.30	−2.14	$35,152
	New Democratic	François Pilon	4,986	10.11	+3.89	$1,499
	Green	Gaëtan Bérard	1,380	2.80	−0.13	$1,387
Total valid votes			49,330	100.00
Total rejected ballots			667	1.33
Turnout			49,997	62.16	−2.71
Electors on the lists			80,429
	Liberal hold		Swing		+6.08
Source: Official Voting Results, 40th General Election 2008, Elections Canada.

v t e 2006 Canadian federal election: Honoré-Mercier
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Pablo Rodríguez	19,622	38.23	−7.87	$62,095
	Bloc Québécois	Gérard Labelle	17,879	34.83	−5.54	$39,105
	Conservative	Angelo M. Marino	8,952	17.44	+11.42	$62,813
	New Democratic	François Pilon	3,191	6.22	+2.13	$2,374
	Green	Sylvain Castonguay	1,502	2.93	+1.16	not listed
	Marxist–Leninist	Hélène Héroux	183	0.36	+0.02	none listed
Total valid votes			51,329	100.00
Total rejected ballots			650	1.25
Turnout			51,979	64.87	+3.23
Electors on the lists			80,122
	Liberal hold		Swing		-1.17
Source: Official Voting Results, 39th General Election, Elections Canada.