QUÉBEC — The newly elected leader of the Quebec Liberals says he'll wait until the 2026 provincial election to run for a seat in the national assembly.
While there had been rumours that another party member might step down to give him the chance at a seat, Pablo Rodriguez said Monday that he doesn't intend to run in a byelection just to enter the legislature as quickly as possible.
Instead, he intends to travel across Quebec, working to rebuild a party that won only one seat outside of Montreal in the last election.
"Between now and the next election, I will continue to travel across Quebec, talking with Quebecers from all regions," Rodriguez said in an interview. "That's my priority."
However, the former federal Liberal cabinet minister still plans to appear regularly at the Quebec legislature to give press conferences.
Rodriguez will face the challenge of rebuilding support among francophone voters outside Montreal.
In 2022, the party suffered its worst-ever defeat based on its share of the popular vote. It managed to hang onto Official Opposition status thanks to the concentration of Liberal voters in Montreal.
Rodriguez won the party's leadership contest on Saturday in the second round. The 57-year-old secured just over 52 per cent of the vote over second-place finisher Charles Milliard, who collected about 48 per cent.
The new leader said he wanted his party to regain the title of party of the economy, which was ceded in recent years to Premier François Legault's Coalition Avenir Québec.
During the campaign, his adversaries criticized Rodriguez's lack of economic credentials and pointed out his long stint in federal politics under former prime minister Justin Trudeau, whose government posted record deficits.
But Rodriguez brushed those concerns aside.
"People say I'm not the economic candidate," Rodriguez said. "(Former Liberal premiers) Jean Charest and Philippe Couillard weren't either. What they did was assemble a strong economic team."
He said Milliard and Karl Blackburn, who finished third, both have economic backgrounds, and said he had high hopes that they would continue with the party.
Rodriguez did not say how many years he would take to balance the budget, if his party wins in 2026. Legault's government posted a record $13.6-billion deficit this year.
He said budget management would be done gradually and "in a responsible way" to avoid harmful cuts.
He also didn't rule out reducing the number of public employees, but excluded cutting doctors, nurses or teachers.
Rodriguez also questioned the Quebec government's decision to go ahead with a new bridge and tunnel connecting Quebec City with its South Shore. The province's transport minister has said she wants the project to be made irreversible so it can't be cancelled if another party wins the next election.
"I can't believe that François Legault's government is going to want to take Quebecers hostage in this way, tying the hands of a future government with a project about which we know almost nothing," Rodriguez said.
Born in Argentina, Rodriguez arrived in Quebec at eight years old. He grew up in Sherbrooke and served as a federal Liberal MP for the Montreal riding of Honoré-Mercier.
He notably served as minister of Canadian heritage and minister of transport under Justin Trudeau.
During the leadership race, Rodriguez presented himself as an experienced candidate capable of defeating both Legault and Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, who has been leading in the polls for months.
A recent Léger poll found that with Rodriguez as leader, the Liberals would win 31 per cent of the vote in a provincial election, one point ahead of the Parti Québécois.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 16, 2026.
Thomas Laberge, The Canadian Press
