His departure was expected. The timing seems rushed, however. The Minister of Economy, Innovation and Energy, Pierre Fitzgibbon, is leaving the CAQ government of his friend François Legault in the midst of an energy transition, of which he seemed to be one of the most fervent supporters within the CAQ team. His freedom of speech sometimes revealed his real ambitions, which were slowed down, once put on paper, by his boss. However, Mr. Fitzgibbon is jumping ship at the dawn of this major shift that he himself was trying to initiate.
His frankness, the same one that put him in the hot seat on more than one occasion, had been even more uninhibited in his interviews in recent days. Mr. Fitzgibbon did not hide his eagerness to accelerate Quebec’s energy transition, as well as his exasperation at seeing his momentum slowed by the hesitations of a part of the population (and even his government). Decarbonization will have a price, he said, “social and economic.” And it will require the modulation of electricity rates, as well as the construction of wind turbines or dams. “If we don’t want them, that’s fine. But we won’t decarbonize,” he said on Radio-Canada, calling on Quebec to finally undertake this reflection, the outcome of which he seemed immediately discouraged from presuming.
Mr. Fitzgibbon will not be taking part in this debate. The contradictions deplored by the minister in the past are not wrong. Quebecers drape themselves in great environmentalist convictions, while being champions of energy consumption and the purchase of light trucks. But his government is not without its paradoxes either.
It was without any emotion that Mr. Fitzgibbon admitted that the battery sector for electric vehicles, developed at great cost but dependent on the vagaries of the global market, would take off with months of delays. And that it could even abort, in the case of the Northvolt factory, you never know. “I am not privy to the secrets of gods,” he simply retorted, impassive.
This major project for the future, described as essential for the Quebec nation, in which the government absolutely could not do without investing billions of dollars, would no longer be worth the slightest stir. In light of the minister’s announced departure, we can better understand his detachment. But we should not be surprised that the population shares his disaffection.
This necessary energy transition was, however, his major project. Electricity pricing and the development of new sources to achieve carbon neutrality remain huge projects that have not yet had time to be cleared. His imposing bill proposing to reform electricity management has also become an orphan. Halfway through the second term of the Coalition avenir Québec, Mr. Fitzgibbon would have had plenty of time to complete them.
However, as with other CAQ frameworks, once the outline of these great ideas has been drawn, the creator struggles to deliver them. This is evidenced by the hundreds of 4-year-old kindergarten classes that are still awaited, as well as a third of the seniors’ homes promised by the government, the abandoned Espaces bleus, or the Panier bleu platform, which Minister Fitzgibbon ended up closing.
A free spirit, sometimes giving in to spontaneity that lacked a little modesty, Pierre Fitzgibbon was also one of those centralizing ministers who granted himself—or were granted—a great deal of room to maneuver. At least, in terms of energy, because the minister, who also had responsibilities for the Montreal region, did not pay as much attention to the metropolis. His successor will perhaps see to that.
His conversion from business to politics never seemed entirely complete, as evidenced by his few run-ins with the National Assembly’s ethics commissioner.
For François Legault, it is a friend who is leaving him, but also an ally in this quest he has given himself to leave behind a CAQ economic legacy for Quebec. His departure will require an “adjustment” within the Council of Ministers, with Mr. Legault’s entourage dismissing the idea of a bigger reshuffle. And above all, the holding of a by-election in a context that is far from ideal for the CAQ, in the shadow of unfavourable polls.
If the current popular mood is any indication, a by-election in Terrebonne could result in the election of a fifth MP for the Parti Québécois. Nothing to dampen the impression of possible momentum from leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon or that François Legault is nearing the end of his mandate.
By urging Pierre Fitzgibbon to announce his departure now, rather than in December, as the outgoing minister had hoped, Mr. Legault wanted to avoid “distractions.” However, he has just derailed his own return to work.