The Minister of Economy and Energy, Pierre Fitzgibbon, cast doubt on Wednesday about his resolution to complete his mandate, despite the assurance expressed by Prime Minister François Legault that he will remain in office until in the next election.
Questioned twice in press scrums, Mr. Fitzgibbon simply repeated his intention to complete the development of the battery sector and to bring a bill to fruition.
“I’m going to resign the morning you find out,” he told reporters.
Pierre Fitzgibbon accused media representatives of assuming that he would not complete his mandate while refusing, at the same time, to refute this hypothesis.
“I am going to finish the things for which I made promises to Mr. Legault,” he dodged.
The minister then added that the development of the battery sector is “not badly delivered”. He must also submit an energy bill this spring, which he hopes to have adopted by the end of the year.
In an interview published Wednesday in DealsMr. Fitzgibbon, elected in 2018 then re-elected in 2022, affirmed that he would not serve more than two mandates.
“I prefer to stick to two terms,” he said. I would be younger than Biden, but I think we have to let the next generation take over. I believe in that. »
Minister Fitzgibbon also outlined his assessment and estimated that his legacy would consist of the reform of Investissement Québec, the development of innovation zones and the battery sector. He said that he wants to promote green steel between now and his departure.
Legault confident
François Legault expressed confidence on Wednesday that his minister, whose action has defined his government in recent years, will complete the current mandate in 2026.
“That’s what he told me,” he said. […] Pierre is there for the entire mandate. »
Last month, Chief Government Whip Éric Lefebvre announced that he would step down as an MP as soon as a federal vote allows him to be a candidate for the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) by 2025 He has since sat as an independent MP.
The Minister of Finance, Eric Girard, who was a PCC candidate in the 2015 federal elections, for his part was unable to rule out the hypothesis that he could repeat the experience.
A few days later, Deputy Prime Minister Geneviève Guilbault rejected the possibility of wearing the colors of the PCC in the next federal elections. “I will not be a candidate for the Conservative Party of Canada in 2025,” she said on April 25.
At the Prime Minister’s office, the director of media relations, Manuel Dionne, announced this week that he will soon leave his position. This departure is in addition to that of three other staff members from Mr. Legault’s office recently.
On Wednesday, the Prime Minister greeted his media relations director during his press briefing.
“He’s an exceptional guy,” he said. Then, obviously, it’s quite an achievement to have been able to resist the rest of you, and therefore the journalists from the Press Gallery. »