Pablo Rodríguez (Canadian politician)

Pablo Rodríguez MP
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities
Incumbent
Assumed office December 2, 2015
Minister	Amarjeet Sohi
Preceded by	Peter Braid
Member of the Canadian Parliament for Honoré-Mercier
Incumbent
Assumed office October 19, 2015
Preceded by	Paulina Ayala
In office June 28, 2004 – May 2, 2011
Preceded by	Yvon Charbonneau
Succeeded by	Paulina Ayala
Personal details
Born	June 21, 1967 San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina
Political party	Liberal
Spouse(s)	Roxane Hardy
Residence	Montreal, Quebec
Profession	Communication consultant

Pablo Rodríguez (born June 21, 1967) is a Canadian Member of Parliament.

Life and career

Born in San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina, he was a communication and management consultant before being elected as a Liberal to the Canadian House of Commons for the Quebec riding of Honoré-Mercier in 2004, 2006 and 2008.

Rodríguez 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 Rodríguez put forward was passed by the Commons that would give the Conservative government 60 days to come up with a plan to respect Canada's engagements under the Kyoto protocol.

Prior to entering politics, Rodríguez, who has a degree in business administration from the University of Sherbrooke, had worked for over twelve years in the fields of public affairs and management of international projects. He was nicknamed Hot Rod.

Throughout his career, Rodríguez has dedicated much of his time to humanitarian causes that are close to his heart. In fact, his belief in helping developing countries and the eradication of poverty led him to collaborate with numerous organizations including Oxfam-Québec, where he was a Vice-President for nearly four years.

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

He was the Quebec Chair of the Michael Ignatieff candidacy during his 2006 campaign for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada.

In the 2011 election he was defeated by NDP candidate Paulina Ayala. Rodriguez sought a rematch in the 2015 election and defeated Ayala to return to Parliament.

Electoral record

Canadian federal election, 2015: Honoré-Mercier
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Pablo Rodríguez	29,211	56.55	+20.18	–
	New Democratic	Paulina Ayala	8,478	16.41	-13.94	–
	Bloc Québécois	Audrey Beauséjour	6,680	12.93	-5.59	–
	Conservative	Guy Croteau	6,226	12.05	-0.37	–
	Green	Angela Budilean	814	1.58	-0.02	–
	Strength in Democracy	Dayana Dejean	168	0.33	–	–
	Marxist–Leninist	Yves Le Seigle	81	0.16	-0.19	–
Total valid votes/Expense limit			51,658	100.0		$212,950.75
Total rejected ballots			682	–	–
Turnout			52,340	–	–
Eligible voters			78,428
	Liberal gain from New Democratic		Swing		+17.11
Source: Elections Canada[1][2]

Canadian federal election, 2011: Honoré-Mercier
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%	Expenditures
	New Democratic	Paulina Ayala	17,545	36.37	+26.26
	Liberal	Pablo Rodriguez	14,641	30.35	-13.32
	Bloc Québécois	Martin Laroche	8,935	18.52	-9.60
	Conservative	Gérard Labelle	5,992	12.42	-2.88
	Green	Gaëtan Bérard	770	1.60	-1.20
	Rhinoceros	Valery Chevrefils-Latulippe	181	0.38	–
	Marxist–Leninist	Jean-Paul Bédard	170	0.35	–
Total valid votes			48,234	100.00
Total rejected ballots			622	1.27	-0.06
Turnout			48,856	59.98	-2.18
	New Democratic gain from Liberal		Swing		+19.79

Canadian federal election, 2008: Honoré-Mercier
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Pablo Rodríguez	21,544	43.67	+5.44	$64,461
	Bloc Québécois	Gérard Labelle	13,871	28.12	−6.71	$57,274
	Conservative	Rodrigo Alfaro	7,549	15.30	−2.14	$35,152
	New Democratic	François Pilon	4,986	10.11	+3.89	$1,499
	Green	Gaëtan Bérard	1,380	2.80	−0.13	$1,387
Total valid votes			49,330	100.00
Total rejected ballots			667	1.33
Turnout			49,997	62.16	−2.71
Electors on the lists			80,429
	Liberal hold		Swing		+6.08
Source: Official Voting Results, 40th General Election 2008, Elections Canada.

Canadian federal election, 2006: Honoré-Mercier
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Pablo Rodríguez	19,622	38.23	−7.87	$62,095
	Bloc Québécois	Gérard Labelle	17,879	34.83	−5.54	$39,105
	Conservative	Angelo M. Marino	8,952	17.44	+11.42	$62,813
	New Democratic	François Pilon	3,191	6.22	+2.13	$2,374
	Green	Sylvain Castonguay	1,502	2.93	+1.16	not listed
	Marxist–Leninist	Hélène Héroux	183	0.36	+0.02	none listed
Total valid votes			51,329	100.00
Total rejected ballots			650	1.25
Turnout			51,979	64.87	+3.23
Electors on the lists			80,122
	Liberal hold		Swing		+2.33
Source: Official Voting Results, 39th General Election, Elections Canada.

Canadian federal election, 2004: Honoré-Mercier
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Pablo Rodríguez	22,223	46.10	−11.76	$78,649
	Bloc Québécois	Éric St-Hilaire	19,461	40.37	+10.02	$13,063
	Conservative	Gianni Chiazzese	2,902	6.02	−2.28	$5,060
	New Democratic	François Pilon	1,973	4.09	+2.81	$885
	Green	Richard Lahaie	852	1.77	–	$0
	Marijuana	Steve Boudrias	626	1.30	−0.59	none listed
	Marxist–Leninist	Hélène Héroux	164	0.34	+0.03	none listed
Total valid votes			48,201	100.00
Total rejected ballots			854	1.74
Turnout			49,055	61.64
Electors on the lists			79,585
Note: Conservative vote is compared to the total of the Canadian Alliance vote and Progressive Conservative vote in 2000 election.
Source: Official Voting Results, Thirty-Eighth General Election, Elections Canada.
	Liberal hold		Swing		+10.89

References

1. Elections Canada – Confirmed candidates for Honoré-Mercier, 30 September 2015
2. Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates

External links

• Pablo Rodríguez (Canadian politician) – Parliament of Canada biography
• Official website of Pablo Rodriguez
• CBC
• Toronto Star article