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‘Who is going to face Mr Trump’: Canada leaders’ debate dominated by US crisis ‘Who is going to face Mr Trump’: Canada leaders’ debate dominated by US crisis
(about 7 hours later)
Mark Carney’s Liberals have surged in the polls since Donald Trump’s attacks on Canada, scuppering Conservative calls for change after Trudeau eraMark Carney’s Liberals have surged in the polls since Donald Trump’s attacks on Canada, scuppering Conservative calls for change after Trudeau era
Prime Minister Mark Carney said the key question in Canada’s upcoming election is who is best to deal with Donald Trump as he faced his Conservative rival in a French-language leaders’ debate on Wednesday. The prime minister, Mark Carney, said Canadians were looking to elect the person best suited to deal with Donald Trump as he faced his Conservative rival in the first of two highly anticipated leaders’ debates.
Opposition Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre said during the debate Canada needs change after a decade of Liberal party rule and Carney is just like his predecessor, Justin Trudeau. Carney responded: “Mr Poilievre is not Justin Trudeau. I’m not Justin Trudeau either. In this election the question is who is going to face Mr Trump.” The opposition Conservative leader, Pierre Poilievre, told viewers that Canada needed change after a decade of Liberal party rule and worked to link Carney to his predecessor Justin Trudeau. Carney responded: “Mr Poilievre is not Justin Trudeau. I’m not Justin Trudeau either. In this election the question is who is going to face Mr Trump.”
The exchange was the first between the two men since Carney was elected Liberal leader in March. But the closely watched French-language debate was overshadowed by criticism that far-right media outlets dominated the question-and-answer sessions after the debate commission relented to pressure from the organizations.
Trump’s trade war and threats to make Canada the 51st state have infuriated Canadians and led to a surge in Canadian nationalism that has bolstered Carney’s Liberal party poll numbers ahead of the 28 April vote. Wednesday’s debate in Montreal between the two electoral frontrunners marks the first meeting between the two men since Carney was elected Liberal leader in March following the resignation of Trudeau.
The debate took place in Montreal, the largest city in predominantly French-speaking Quebec. The province has 78 of the 343 seats in the House of Commons and is usually regarded as one of the keys to victory. Throughout the brief federal election campaign, Trump’s trade war and his threats to make Canada the 51st state have infuriated Canadians. The resulting eruption of patriotism has bolstered Carney’s electoral prospects ahead of the 28 April vote.
Poilievre is imploring Canadians not to give the Liberals a fourth term. He hoped to make the election a referendum on Trudeau, whose popularity declined toward the end of his decade in power as food and housing prices rose and immigration surged. Quebec’s 78 seats in the House of Commons are seen as critical for both parties and their respective paths to victory. Despite not speaking French with the same command as his rivals and never holding elected office, Carney has nonetheless emerged as the most popular leader in the province and his Liberals are currently polling ahead of both the Conservatives and the separatist Bloc Québécois.
But Trump attacked, Trudeau resigned and Carney, a two-time central banker, became Liberal party leader and prime minister after a party leadership race. Poilievre used the debate to ask Canadians not to give the Liberals a fourth term. He hoped to make the election a referendum on Trudeau, whose popularity declined toward the end of his decade in power as food and housing prices rose and immigration surged.
When asked about Trudeau at a news conference after the debate, Carney said: “One of the differences, there are many, but one of the differences between the two of us is that I put much more emphasis on the economy, on growing the economy. Yves-François Blanchet of the separatist Bloc Québécois agreed with the Conservatives’ call for change, saying that having a new leader did not change the Liberal party.
“In fact in this circumstance that we are in, given the scale of the crisis, I would say relentless focus on growing the economy.” But public opinion, too, has changed. Of 12 federal polls released over the last week, the Liberals lead in all of them, with support that puts them on track to capture a majority government in the coming days.
Yves-François Blanchet of the separatist Bloc Québécois, whose party is losing support to Carney’s Liberals in Quebec, agreed with the Conservatives’ call for change, saying the Liberals are the same party, the same ministers and the same lawmakers and a new leader does not change that. While the thrust and parry of the debate is likely to move some voters, a large degree of commentary following the event, both in traditional media and online, focused on the way in which far-right media outlets managed to dominate the post-debate scrum.
But public opinion too has changed. In a mid-January poll by Nanos, Liberals trailed the Conservative party by 47% to 20%. In the latest Nanos poll released on Wednesday, the Liberals led by eight percentage points. The January poll had a margin of error 3.1 points while the latest poll had a 2.7-point margin. In the first of a string of questions from far-right outlets, Carney was asked by a Juno News reporter why the Liberal leader was “hiding” people that were close to the former prime minister Justin Trudeau. Carney called question “rather odd” but said his team included both experienced candidates and new recruits, including a prominent activist from Montreal.
The French debate was moved up by two hours to minimise a conflict with a Montreal Canadiens hockey game. The NHL team faced off against the Carolina Hurricanes at 7pm ET, in a game that could clinch them a spot in the Stanley Cup playoffs. The New Democratic party leader, Jagmeet Singh, refused to answer questions from Rebel News representatives and accused the organization of spreading disinformation.
This isn’t the first time NHL hockey has elbowed its way onto the campaign trail. During the 2011 election, former Bloc leader Gilles Duceppe asked for a debate to be postponed due to a Canadiens hockey game, and his request was granted. Poilievre took questions from Rebel News, responding that his party was the only one willing to protect the freedom of the press and respected the right of Canadians to have access to the media they choose.
The English language debate is being held on Thursday evening. The debate commission was already under scrutiny for its last-minute revocation of the Green party’s invitation to the debate only hours before Wednesday’s event.
With Associated Press and Reuters “Why is the Green party being silenced by the debate commission while [far-right outlets] get press credentials? Something doesn’t add up,” the party said.
The French debate was moved up by two hours to minimise a conflict with a Montreal Canadiens hockey game, a move the debate commission said was “recognizing Canadians’ passion for hockey”. The NHL team faced off against the Carolina Hurricanes and emerged victorious, clinching a spot in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
An English-language debate is being held on Thursday evening in Montreal, the day before early voting begins.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed reporting
This article was amended on 17 April 2025. An earlier version misspelled the surname of Yves-François Blanchet.This article was amended on 17 April 2025. An earlier version misspelled the surname of Yves-François Blanchet.