The Minister of Economy, Innovation and Energy in the Legault government, Pierre Fitzgibbon, resigns.
The information was made public in particular by The Press Tuesday noon. This comes as the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) is holding its pre-sessional caucus in Rimouski.
This departure also takes place in a context where Mr. Fitzgibbon’s pet project, Northvolt, is facing difficulties. The government’s decision not to submit the project to the Bureau d’audiences publiques en environnement (BAPE) is also the subject of persistent criticism.
On Tuesday morning, the minister defended the government’s approach to this matter. “I’m going to take the blame for poor communication,” he told Mario Dumont.
The rumours about Mr Fitzgibbon’s departure are not new. According to our information, business circles have been preparing for his departure for months.
Coming from the business community, Mr. Fitzgibbon will be 70 years old next November. He was first elected in 2018 under the CAQ banner in the riding of Terrebonne. He had held the position of Minister of Economy and Innovation since the party’s first mandate, and was also subsequently entrusted with the position of Minister of Energy.
Recently, in a press scrum, Premier François Legault had declared that his colleague and friend might, at age 70, get tired of answering journalists’ questions and want to move on. Always vague about his intentions, the main person concerned had shown himself to be concerned about preparing his successor.
An orphan bill
In the spring, Pierre Fitzgibbon presented an impressive bill on electricity management in Quebec. Bill 69 notably opened the door to the modulation of residential electricity rates.
Since the study of the bill is due to begin in Parliament when politics resumes this autumn, bets are open on who will be tasked with defending it.
The minister’s departure also forces a potentially grueling by-election for the government, from which the Parti Québécois (PQ) has already taken the Jean-Talon riding. According to the electoral projection tool Québec 125, the PQ has a good chance of making a win there as well.
Further details will follow.