Jody Wilson-Raybould and Jane Philpott will both be running as independents in the federal election this October.

Both made the announcement in their home ridings on Monday afternoon, Wilson Raybould in Vancouver Granville and Philpott in Markham-Stoufville

Wilson-Raybould said she was inspired to run as an independent by the people who supported her, and voters who told her she inspired them to speak truth.

The former Liberal cabinet ministers, both of whom resigned over the SNC-Lavalin controversy.

Wilson-Raybould served as justice minister in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet before she was shuffled to the portfolio of veterans affairs in January.

She later revealed she thought the decision to move her out of the justice role was motivated by her handling of a request to intervene in the criminal prosecution of the Quebec engineering giant, SNC-Lavalin.

Philpott, a former health minister, Indigenous-services minister and president of the Treasury Board, resigned from cabinet in early March over Trudeau’s handling of the affair.

In early April, both were ousted from the Liberal caucus. </s> OTTAWA — Former Liberal cabinet ministers Jody Wilson-Raybould and Jane Philpott say they will run as independents in the next federal election.

They made separate but co-ordinated announcements in their ridings — Wilson-Raybould in Vancouver and Philpott outside Toronto.

Wilson-Raybould served as justice minister in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet before she was shuffled to the portfolio of veterans affairs in January.

She later revealed she thought the decision to move her out of the justice role was motivated by her decision not to intervene in the criminal prosecution of the Quebec engineering giant, SNC-Lavalin.

Philpott was health minister and then minister of Indigenous services and president of the Treasury Board before resigning over Trudeau’s handling of the SNC-Lavalin affair.

Both were ousted from the Liberal caucus in early April and sit as independent MPs in the House of Commons.

Wilson Raybould told supporters in Vancouver today that she has heard an “overwhelming” message on the need to do politics differently, adding she believes running under no political banner is the best way for her to achieve that.

“I know that it will not be easy to run a campaign as an independent,” she said.

“There will be challenges, but with your support, I am confident that running as an indepedent is the best way to … go about it at this time and the best way to transform our political culture.”
• Jody Wilson-Raybould’s last act as justice minister described as ‘inconsistent with democratic values’
• House speaker rules that Jane Philpott and Jody Wilson-Raybould’s privileges were not breached in caucus ouster </s> OTTAWA -- Former Liberal cabinet ministers Jody Wilson-Raybould and Jane Philpott say they will run as independents in the next federal election.

They made separate but co-ordinated announcements in their ridings -- Wilson-Raybould in Vancouver and Philpott outside Toronto.

Both were ousted from the Liberal caucus in early April and sit as independent MPs in the House of Commons.

Wilson Raybould told supporters she has heard an "overwhelming" message on the need to do politics differently, adding she believes running under no political banner is the best way for her to achieve that.

"I know that it will not be easy to run a campaign as an independent," she said.

"There will be challenges, but with your support, I am confident that running as an independent is the best way to ... go about it at this time and the best way to transform our political culture."

Wilson-Raybould served as justice minister in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's cabinet before she was shuffled to the portfolio of veterans affairs in January.

She later revealed she thought the decision to move her out of the justice role was motivated by her decision not to intervene in the criminal prosecution of the Quebec engineering giant, SNC-Lavalin.

Philpott was health minister and then minister of Indigenous services and president of the Treasury Board before resigning over Trudeau's handling of the SNC-Lavalin affair.

"I didn't lose my voice," said Philpott of sitting as an independent. "I found my voice."

Both she and Wilson-Raybould spoke highly of the Green party and its leader Elizabeth May, and acknowledged having repeated conversations about running for that party, but decided that Canadian politics needs more people beholden to no central authority. </s> Image copyright Reuters Image caption Jody Wilson-Raybould (L) and Health Minister Jane Philpott (R)

Two Canadian politicians who were expelled from the Liberal party over the SNC-Lavalin affair are running again as independents.

Jody Wilson-Raybould and Jane Philpott have both announced their intention to seek re-election later this year.

The two former cabinet ministers had cried foul over how the Trudeau government was handling the prosecution of the Quebec firm.

The next Canadian general election is scheduled for this October.

"I am confident running as an independent is the best way to transform our political culture," Ms Wilson-Raybould told reporters in Vancouver on Monday.

In a separate announcement in a Toronto suburb, Ms Philpott also announced her intention to run again without any party affiliation.

Ms Philpott and Ms Wilson-Raybould both said that Canadians need to elect more politicians empowered to represent their constituents in the House of Commons.

Earlier this year, Ms Wilson-Raybould resigned from her cabinet post and accused Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and members of his inner circle of attempting to meddle in a criminal case involving SNC-Lavalin.

Not long after, Ms Philpott - one of Mr Trudeau's top ministers - quit, saying she has lost confidence in the government's handling of the affair.

What is the background?

Both former ministers were central actors in a political controversy that dogged Mr Trudeau for weeks and hammered at his popularity.

The affair began in early February, when the Globe and Mail newspaper reported allegations of political interference in the case against SNC-Lavalin.

The newspaper reported that Mr Trudeau's office had pressured Ms Wilson-Raybould - at the time serving as federal justice minister and attorney general - to push the public prosecution service to consider a deferred prosecution agreement for the firm.

An attorney general is supposed to act independently with respect of his or her prosecutorial function.

On 12 February, Ms Wilson-Raybould resigned suddenly from cabinet.

She later testified before a parliamentary committee that, as attorney general, she and her staff had faced four months of a "sustained" and "inappropriate effort" to push for a possible agreement for SNC-Lavalin.

The agreement - similar to regimes in the US and the UK - essentially suspends prosecution while allowing a firm to agree instead to alternative terms or conditions.

Ms Philpott resigned shortly after.

In April, Mr Trudeau expelled both women from the Liberal party caucus, saying that trust had been broken between the two and other Liberal MPs.

SNC-Lavalin is one of the world's largest engineering and construction companies.

The company and two of its subsidiaries face fraud and corruption charges in relation to approximately C$48m ($36m; £28m) in bribes it is alleged to have offered to Libyan officials between 2001 and 2011.

It has openly lobbied to be allowed to enter into a remediation agreement instead of going to trial, saying it has cleaned house and changed its ways. </s> MARKHAM, Ont. — Jody Wilson-Raybould and Jane Philpott are set to reveal their next moves today.

The former Liberal cabinet ministers, both of whom resigned over the SNC-Lavalin controversy, have scheduled announcements in their respective ridings.

Wilson-Raybould is the independent MP for the B.C. riding of Vancouver Granville and Philpott is the independent MP for the Ontario riding of Markham-Stouffville.

Neither has said what they have in mind, other than that constituents have been invited to meet with them as they share announcements about their political futures.
• Jody Wilson-Raybould’s last act as justice minister described as ‘inconsistent with democratic values’
• House speaker rules that Jane Philpott and Jody Wilson-Raybould’s privileges were not breached in caucus ouster

Wilson-Raybould served as justice minister in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet before she was shuffled to the portfolio of veterans affairs in January.

She later revealed she thought the decision to move her out of the justice role was motivated by her handling of a request to intervene in the criminal prosecution of the Quebec engineering giant, SNC-Lavalin.

Philpott, a former health minister, Indigenous-services minister and president of the Treasury Board, resigned from cabinet in early March over Trudeau’s handling of the affair.

In early April, both were ousted from the Liberal caucus. </s> Jody Wilson-Raybould and Jane Philpott say they want to make Canada's political system less partisan. The two were once star members of Justin Trudeau's cabinet. In the aftermath of the SNC-Lavalin scandal, they resigned from cabinet and were later kicked out of the Liberal caucus. On Monday, Wilson-Raybould and Philpott announced that they'll run as Independent candidates in the fall election campaign. But how realistic is their vision of a politics with less partisanship? Co-host of CBC's The National, Rosemary Barton, breaks it down. </s> Jody Wilson-Raybould and Jane Philpott are running as independent candidates in this fall's federal election.

They made separate but co-ordinated announcements in their ridings — Wilson-Raybould in Vancouver and Philpott outside Toronto.

Wilson-Raybould, who resigned over the SNC-Lavalin controversy, says she is committed to the betterment of Vancouver and the country.

"The message is clear," she said. "There is too much power in the centre."

"I know that it will not be easy to run a campaign as an independent. There will be challenges," said Wilson-Raybould. "It's the best way to transform the political culture."

Wilson-Raybould said she received 15,000 emails, letters, cards messages of encouragement.

She and Philpott, both of whom were removed from the Liberal caucus in the wake of the controversy, had scheduled announcements Monday about their political futures in their respective ridings.

Wilson-Raybould, the former attorney general, is now an independent MP for the B.C. riding of Vancouver-Granville. She's been at the heart of the SNC-Lavalin affair, alleging she was subjected late last year to sustained "inappropriate" political pressure by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his officials to coax her to intervene in the criminal prosecution of the Quebec engineering giant.

"We sometimes hear that politics is a team sport, that politics is also a bloodsport. Well I do believe in the importance of a strong team, but I'm not sure there has to be any blood involved," Wilson-Raybould said.

She was shuffled to the portfolio of veterans affairs in January and later revealed she thought the decision to move her out of the justice role was motivated by her handling of a request to intervene in the case. </s> OTTAWA -- Former Liberal cabinet ministers Jody Wilson-Raybould and Jane Philpott say they will run as independents during this fall's federal election.

More to come... </s> Jody Wilson-Raybould and Jane Philpott will put the questions to rest and announce their next steps on Monday morning.

Simultaneous press conferences are scheduled for around noon eastern time in which both former cabinet ministers will unveil their plans for what comes next. That comes after their ejections from the Liberal caucus in April for raising concerns about the allegations of attempted political interference at the heart of the SNC-Lavalin scandal.

Both have sat as Independent MPs ever since.

READ MORE: Jody Wilson-Raybould and Jane Philpott kicked out of Liberal Party caucus

Wilson-Raybould, who as the former attorney general, named both Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and 10 of his senior advisers in the scandal, resigned from cabinet in February after the allegations were first reported by the Globe and Mail.

Philpott followed suit and quit her post as president of the Treasury Board, saying the government wasn’t taking the allegations seriously enough.

WATCH BELOW: Philpott says SNC-Lavalin critics don’t realize Canadians expect more

In his decision to eject them both from the caucus, Trudeau also revoked both of their candidacies to run for the Liberal Party again this fall.

There has been speculation as to whether either will join another political party, run as independents, or leave political life altogether.

Wilson-Raybould, in particular, has been the subject of questions over whether she will run for the Greens.

She was spotted attending Green Party Leader Elizabeth May’s wedding this spring and retweeted a Green Party Twitter post congratulating Paul Manly, their newest MP, for his win in the Nanaimo-Ladysmith byelection earlier in May.

— More to come …
In separate press conferences, former Liberal cabinet members Jody Wilson-Raybould and Jane Philpott, who both resigned over the government's handling of the SNC-Lavalin criminal case, announce they are running as independents in the October 2019 elections.