Juan Pablo Rodríguez (born June 21, 1967) is a Canadian politician who has served as the

minister of Canadian heritage The minister of Canadian heritage (french: ministre du patrimoine canadien) is the minister of the Crown who heads Canadian Heritage, the department of the Government of Canada responsible for culture, media, sports, and the arts. History The po ...

since 2021. A member of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

, he represents Honoré-Mercier in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

. Rodriguez previously served as the Government Chief Whip, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Multiculturalism and

Leader of the Government in the House of Commons The leader of the government in the House of Commons (), more commonly known as the government house leader, is the Cabinet minister responsible for planning and managing the government's legislative program in the House of Commons of Canada. ...

Early life and career

Rodriguez was born on June 21, 1967, in

San Miguel de Tucumán San Miguel de Tucumán (; usually called simply Tucumán) is the capital and largest city of Tucumán Province, located in northern Argentina from Buenos Aires. It is the fifth-largest city of Argentina after Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Rosario an ...

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

. When he was eight, Rodriguez's family fled to Canada after their home was bombed during the

Dirty War The Dirty War ( es, Guerra sucia) is the name used by the military junta or civic-military dictatorship of Argentina ( es, dictadura cívico-militar de Argentina, links=no) for the period of state terrorism in Argentina from 1974 to 1983 a ...

after his father was repeatedly jailed and tortured for his activism. Prior to entering politics, Rodriguez, who has a degree in business administration from the

University of Sherbrooke A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...

, had worked for over twelve years in the fields of public affairs and management of international projects. Throughout his career, Rodriguez has dedicated much of his time to humanitarian causes. His work particularly focused on helping developing countries and the eradication of poverty. He was the Vice President of

Oxfam Oxfam is a British-founded confederation of 21 independent charitable organizations focusing on the alleviation of global poverty, founded in 1942 and led by Oxfam International. History Founded at 17 Broad Street, Oxford, as the Oxford Co ...

Québec from 2000 to 2004.

Federal politics

Opposition MP

Rodriguez was elected as a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

to the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Common ...

for the

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

riding of Honoré-Mercier in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

and

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

. For most of his first stint in Parliament, he was the only Liberal representing a riding in eastern Montreal, a longstanding stronghold for the Bloc Québecois. Rodriguez was chair of the Standing Committee on Official Languages, the Official Opposition’s Critic for of the Francophonie and Official Languages, and Critic for Public Works and Government Services Canada. He has served on many committees of the House of Commons, including the Committee of Canadian Heritage, Official Languages and the Public Accounts Committee. On February 14, 2007, a bill Rodriguez put forward was passed by the Commons that would give the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

government 60 days to come up with a plan to respect Canada's engagements under the

Kyoto Protocol The Kyoto Protocol was an international treaty which extended the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that commits state parties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, based on the scientific consensus that (part ...

. He is the Past President of the Quebec wing of the Liberal Party of Canada. He was the Quebec Chair of

Michael Ignatieff Michael Grant Ignatieff (; born May 12, 1947) is a Canadian author, academic and former politician who served as the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and Leader of the Official Opposition from 2008 until 2011. Known for his work as a histo ...

's candidacy in the

2006 Liberal Party of Canada leadership election The 2006 Liberal Party of Canada leadership election was prompted by outgoing Prime Minister Paul Martin's announcement that he would not lead the Liberal Party of Canada into another election, following his party's defeat in the 2006 fede ...

. In the 2011 election he was defeated by the

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * t ...

Paulina Ayala Paulina Ayala (born June 25, 1962) is a Canadian politician who served as Member of Parliament for the riding of Honoré—Mercier from 2011 to 2015. She is a member of the New Democratic Party. She succeeded Pablo Rodriguez of the Liberal Pa ...

amid the NDP's surge in Quebec.

In government

Rodriguez sought a rematch with Ayala in the 2015 election. Amid a Liberal surge almost as large as the NDP's surge four years earlier, he defeated Ayala to return to Parliament as one of Prime Minister

Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau ( , ; born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who is the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada. He has served as the prime minister of Canada since 2015 and as the leader of the Liberal Party since 2 ...

's MPs.

42nd Canadian Parliament

Rodriguez served as

Chief Government Whip The Chief Whip is a political leader whose task is to enforce the whipping system, which aims to ensure that legislators who are members of a political party attend and vote on legislation as the party leadership prescribes. United Kingdom ...

for a year and a half from 30 January 2017. Rodriguez served in the

42nd Canadian Parliament The 42nd Canadian Parliament was in session from December 3, 2015, to September 11, 2019, with the membership of its lower chamber, the House of Commons of Canada, having been determined by the results of the 2015 federal election held on Octob ...

as the

Minister of Canadian Heritage The minister of Canadian heritage (french: ministre du patrimoine canadien) is the minister of the Crown who heads Canadian Heritage, the department of the Government of Canada responsible for culture, media, sports, and the arts. History The po ...

from July 18, 2018 until dissolution of that government on November 20, 2019. One of his signature initiatives at Heritage was the expansion of the Canada Periodical Fund from magazine-format monthlies to daily broadsheets. This was announced in

Bill Morneau William Francis Morneau Jr. (born October 7, 1962) is a Canadian businessman and former Liberal Party politician who served as minister of finance and member of Parliament (MP) for Toronto Centre from 2015 to 2020. Morneau was executive chai ...

's 21 November 2018 "fiscal update" as a $600-million slush fund over five years. The measure was widely applauded in the press "by an eclectic group of media outlets, including

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, which owns the

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, which publishes the

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SaltWire Network SaltWire Network Inc. is a Canadian newspaper publishing company owned by the Dennis-Lever family of Halifax, Nova Scotia, owners of ''The Chronicle Herald''. Saltwire owns 23 daily and weekly newspapers in Atlantic Canada.

, and the CBC among others."

43rd Canadian Parliament

Rodriguez was re-elected in the 2019 federal election. From formation on 20 November 2019 until dissolution, Rodriguez served as

44th Canadian Parliament

After the 2021 election, Rodriguez was re-appointed as

on 26 October 2021.

Electoral record

Criminal Charge

On April 16, 2010, Rodriguez was charged under the

Criminal Code of Canada The ''Criminal Code'' (french: Code criminel)The citation of this Act by these short titles is authorised by thEnglishantexts of section 1. is a law that codifies most criminal offences and procedures in Canada. Its official long title is ''An ...

, after he collided his BMW with a parked car in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

. Police attending the crash reported Rodriguez had bloodshot eyes and alcohol on his breath, and during attempts to administer a

breathalyzer A breathalyzer or breathalyser (a portmanteau of ''breath'' and ''analyzer/analyser'') is a device for estimating blood alcohol content (BAC), or to detect viruses or diseases from a breath sample. The name is a genericized trademark of the Br ...

test, Rodriguez "breathed very weakly and cut his breath repeatedly, all the while holding the plastic tip at the edge of his lips". According to Rodriguez himself, "Because I'd consumed a moderate amount of wine during the previous supper, the police officer asked me to proceed with a breathalyzer test, using a hand-held machine, which I did without hesitation". Despite the criminal charge, Rodriguez remained in the Liberal caucus.

References

External links

*
Official website of Pablo Rodriguez

Bio & mandate from the Prime Minister
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodriguez, Pablo 1967 births Canadian people of Argentine descent Argentine emigrants to Canada Francophone Quebec people Liberal Party of Canada MPs Living people Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Quebec Naturalized citizens of Canada People from San Miguel de Tucumán Politicians from Montreal Université de Sherbrooke alumni 21st-century Canadian politicians Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Members of the 29th Canadian Ministry