QUEBEC - Businessman-turned-politician Pierre Fitzgibbon, economy minister and a central figure in the right-leaning Coalition Avenir Québec government, is stepping down.
The news upended Quebec politics on Tuesday, days ahead of the start to the fall legislative session. Fitzgibbon is a member of the inner circle of Premier François Legault, who has entrusted him with major responsibilities to manage the province's economy and energy sector.
Rumours had circulated for some time that Fitzgibbon, 69, wouldn't finish his mandate, with the next provincial election scheduled for October 2026. But his departure was not expected so soon.
A government source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak publicly, confirmed the news to ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø after it was first reported by La Presse.
Legault, who is gathering with his caucus in Rimouski, Que., this week to prepare for the fall legislative session, which begins next Tuesday, refused to confirm the news Tuesday afternoon. Fitzgibbon, he said, would address the caucus that evening and speak to reporters on Wednesday.
Marc Tanguay, interim leader of the Opposition Liberals, told reporters Fitzgibbon's departure is a "heavy blow" for the CAQ, and leaves the government "without a captain" on issues of energy and the economy.
"With this departure, the CAQ is no longer the party of the economy," said Liberal MNA Marwah Rizqy.
Fitzgibbon, who was known as a "superminister" because of the influence he held in cabinet and the importance of his portfolios, was leading the development of Quebec's electric vehicle battery sector. He also tabled a new bill just before the end of the spring legislative session intended to boost energy production in the province. The bill is set to be debated this fall.
Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon said on X that Fitzgibbon is "jumping ship in the middle of a storm."
"Clearly this was not expected today," he later told reporters, adding that the CAQ is beginning to look like a "government at the end of its journey."
Fitzgibbon was first elected in 2018 in the riding of Terrebonne, northeast of Montreal. He previously served as managing partner at Partenaires Walter Capital, a private equity firm. He has also held various positions in finance, corporate development and business development. In the 1970s, he studied with Legault at HEC Montréal, a top business school.
Karl Blackburn, president and CEO of the Conseil du patronat du Québec, thanked Fitzgibbon on X “for his commitment to the economic development of Quebec.†Fitzgibbon, he said, “understood entrepreneurs and the economy like few elected officials†in the ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø Assembly.
Despite being a political heavyweight and one of Legault's most trusted ministers, Fitzgibbon has had a somewhat controversial political career. He has been the subject of several ethics investigations during his time in office, including one probe about his decision to invest $24 million in a company where there were links between a director at the time and the CAQ politician; Fitzgibbon was cleared of any wrongdoing.
This report by ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø was first published Sept. 3, 2024.
