The four main political parties of Canada’s leaders have faced a debate in French, one night before taking the stage for the counterpart in English.
Wednesday’s event presented the leader of the Liberal Party and current Prime Minister Mark Carney and his main rival, conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, as well as the leaders of Bloc Quebecois, Yves-Francois Blanchet and the new Democratic Party, Jagmet Singh.
The English language debate on Thursday will complete the only two debates before the vote on April 28, which occurs after Carney requested a quick choice in March, before the official vote scheduled for October 20.
In a last minute movement, the leaders’ debates commission withdrew to the Green Party, and its co-leader Jonathan Pedneault, of both debates, saying that the party was not executing enough candidates to comply with the qualification criteria.
The debate also took two hours to avoid in conflict with a Playoffs qualifying match of Montreal Canadiens. Most of the approximately 10 million French speakers in Canada live in the province of Quebec, where the team is located.
Here were the best shots of the debate on Wednesday:
Trump is coming
In a little less than three months in office, the president of the United States, Donald Trump, has undertaken one of the most significant changes in US relations with Canada in history.
His actions have included imposing high rates on the northern neighbor and, in a threat of unprecedented annexation, repeatedly suggesting the “51st” state.
On Wednesday, Carney, whose liberal party has seen growing support against Trump’s threats, sought to focus the president of the United States, saying that the elections are “that face Trump.”
“In a crisis, you must have a plan,” said Carney, who spent the night pushing her economic bonas, which included leading the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England
Pailievre, whom in the past he liked a “mini Trump” Canadian, promised to negotiate an agreement that would tear down tariffs, while saying that he would protect Canadian pride.
“We are never an American state,” he said.
Meanwhile, the leader of the Quebecois Bloc, accused Carney of not protecting Quebec in his early response to Trump.
“Until now, all we have seen are the efforts deployed to protect Ontario’s economy, which is the way Canada defines itself,” he said.
A time for change?
For Pailievre, who for months had a dominant advantage over the liberals, sought to take home a unifying issue: that Canadians want changes and a half years of a liberal government, led mainly by Justin Trudeau.
Pilievre said that Carney was repeating the same promises that Trudeau had made her time in power and accused her party of increasing housing prices and weaving the economy by blocking the development of natural resources.
Carney replied that the Bank of England led from 2013 to 2019, since it sought to distance themselves from the liberal policies.
“You are like Justin Trudeau … We need a change and you, Mr. Carney, is not changing,” Pailievre told Carney.
“Mr. Poilievre is not Mr. Trudeau and Neether,” Carney replied.
What did candidates say about immigration?
Pailievre also broke a particular objective to the immigration policies of the liberals.
Trudeau had driven the visas to work in Canada to address the shortage of labor after the Covid-19 pandemic, but cut those limits dramatically last year as critics evaluated themselves in the rapid growth of the country’s population.
The conservative candidate said that the liberals allowed immigration “to get out of control.”
Carney also sought to differentiate himself from the past policies of the liberals, saying that “the system does not work, especially after the pandemic.” He said he supported keeping the tapas low in place for the moment.
Pailievre added that he would block those who were looking for Haiti’s security, Carney, while Carney said he supported the temporal limits in asylum seekers.
“We have to be human, but we have to be realistic. Canada can’t accept everyone,” he said.
Meanwhile, Singh of the new Democratic Party said that in the light of Trump’s repression against refugees and asylum seekers, Canada should end their agreement as “safe third parties” with the United States. The agreement allows Canada to resort to asylum applicants entering the United States.
“We are talking about a dangerous situation and we must respond with compassion,” said Singh.
An increase in oil production and pipes?
The economic uncertainty stimulated by Trump’s rates has also brought a renewed approach to Canada’s energy policy.
Coming from the country’s oil capital, Alberta, Pailievre has pressed for a long time for the deregulation and production of oil. On Wednesday, he promised to increase oil production through more pipelines.
Carney also pointed out the will to boost oil production through pipes, but said approach would be necessary for both Quebec and indigenous groups, as required in the law.
“This is Canada. This is how Canada works,” said Carney. Even so, when pressing, he said that the environment remained a liberal priority.
The blog leader Quebecois, Blanchet, accused the liberal and conservative leaders of ignoring the ravages of climate change.
“The denial of the reality of climate change since the beginning of this campaign and the change of the heart of Mr. Carney, who decided to be more conservative than Mr. Poilievre, is very harmful to our environment,” Blanchet said.
How did language rights come into play?
Carney, the only candidate on stage that lacks a strong understanding of the French language, generally managed to defend himself through the debate and avoid any important pass.
Even so, the question of language rights and preservation appeared prominently, including the discussion of bill 96, a 2022 reform to the Quebec law that limited the use of English in some government services and courts.
The law has been questioned by non -French -speaking groups in the province, and remains a delicate issue for candidates who seek to gain support in Quebec.
Pailievre said that “it will continue to support laws and policies that allow Quebec and the Federal Government to protect the French language throughout Canada.”
Carney was more circumspect, saying: “The question is, do we have rights and freedoms here in Canada? Are we the same?”
“We need to consider the correct balance.”
Carney also promised that the liberal government would see the French -speaking population in Canada strengthened by increasing the rate of Francophone immigrants to provinces outside 10 to 12 percent.