Former Liberal cabinet ministers Jody Wilson-Raybould and Jane Philpott have announced that they will run as independents in the upcoming federal election.

The pair made the announcements within moments of each other in their respective ridings, Wilson-Raybould in Vancouver-Granville and Philpott in Markham-Stouffville.

Both women resigned from cabinet positions in the Trudeau Government in the wake of the SNC Lavalin affair and were ousted from the Liberal Caucus in April.

Wilson-Raybould served as justice minister before she was shuffled to the portfolio of veterans affairs. She later appeared before the House of Commons Justice Committee and said that she believed the decision to move her was motivated by her decision not to grant a deferred prosecution agreement to Quebec engineering giant, SNC-Lavalin, thus enabling them to avoid criminal prosecution on bribery charges.

Philpott meanwhile was health minister and then minister of Indigenous services and president of the Treasury Board before resigning.