Mark Carney and Pierre Poilievre fend off attacks from all sides during French debate

MONTREAL — Liberal Leader Mark Carney attempted to remain above the fray in the face of a French debate pile-on by his three main political rivals Wednesday evening, returning over and over to his main pitch to voters, that he’s the leader to confront Donald Trump in a time of crisis. Carney and his closest opponent, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, tried to adopt prime ministerial detachment while New Democratic Party Leader Jagmeet Singh and Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet aggressively grilled the Liberal leader on issues ranging from the war in Gaza to an alleged bias in favour of Ontario and a failure to hike jobless benefits. Poilievre attacked Carney, early on and often, as Justin Trudeau’s former adviser, saying he was part of the “lost decade” that has left Canada too weak to confront Trump.

When Poilievre went after Carney for the housing crisis that occurred on the Liberals’ watch, Carney said, “I was the governor of the Bank of England then.” “Yes,” retorted Poilievre, “and you inflated the cost of housing there, too.” “You are just like Justin Trudeau.



You are exactly the same,” Poilievre said moments later, “and we need a change.” Carney turned to the moderator and said, “Mr. Poilievre is not Mr.

Trudeau, and neither am I. The question in this election is who is going to succeed him, and who is going to confront Mr. Trump.

” The debate began politely enough as the party leaders were asked their priorities other than the U.S. president’s tariffs.

Carney, the prime minister never before elected to public office, first thanked the other leaders for their service, and said that besides Trump’s tariff threats, he was focused on reducing housing costs and protecting cultural institutions. Poilievre returned frequently to his plan to cut taxes and reduce the cost of living. Blanchet said his party was talking about climate change well before the Trump threat, as well as the need to protect the cultural and linguistic identity of Quebec.

Singh, as he has on the campaign trail, talked about protecting Canadian values, especially as manifested in Canada’s public health-care system, which he said need bolstering. Right off the bat, Trump’s trade war and annexation threats loomed large. Poilievre declared Canada would never be a 51st state and reiterated his plan to renegotiate a trade deal, and develop a stronger resource-based economy, as has Carney.

Carney said Trump respects “strength” and a leader who knows how the world works and how the private sector works. But Poilievre insisted nobody can control the erratic U.S.

president, as he argued the Liberals have weakened Canada, prompting a quick retort by Singh, who accused Poilievre of wanting to make Canada more like the United States. Poilievre replied repeatedly “that’s not true, that’s not true.” Carney underlined early on that he would protect the French language and culture, and the supply-managed agricultural sector.

He was quickly challenged by Blanchet, who suggested Carney claims to be able to manage crises despite having no political experience or a track record that people can trust. “In a war, unfortunately, it’s a question of priorities,” piled on Singh, condemning Carney for meeting with King Charles during his first week as prime minister, but finding no time to protect workers who could lose their jobs. The leaders stumbled occasionally.

Carney seemed to erroneously suggest Quebecers received carbon rebate cheques that only went to residents of provinces that applied the now-defunct federal carbon tax, and was corrected by Blanchet. Blanchet, when asked if voters shouldn’t vote in a strong majority government, said a minority Parliament — which rarely last more than two years — can be just as strong. The separatist BQ has seen its electoral prospects plummet in polls as francophone Quebecers have embraced the Liberals’ pitch that the Trump trade war requires a united front with the rest of Canada.

Singh interjected that the point is to help people, telling Blanchet, “you’re as useless as the monarchy.” Debate moderator Patrice Roy scolded the leaders for failing to release fully costed platforms to show how they would pay for campaign promises, including a host of tax cuts that would reduce government revenues by billions of dollars. “Is that not totally irresponsible to the Canadian electorate?” he asked.

The discussion devolved into accusations from Singh that Carney and Poilievre would cut services and transfers to provinces, with both rivals interrupting him to deny it. Poilievre and Carney agreed that they support increasing Canada’s fossil fuel production. The Conservative leader trumpeted his pledge to roll back the Liberal government’s environmental assessment law, and said he supports construction of new pipelines across Canada — and through Quebec — to export more oil and gas.

Later, during an exchange on the Liberal government’s response to Trump’s tariffs to date, Blanchet accused Carney of quickly supporting Ontario’s auto sector with a $2-billion fund to support the industry, when Quebec’s aluminum industry didn’t get a similar initiative. A sharp exchange saw Singh press Carney over the war in Gaza, declaring Israel’s response to the Oct. 7 massacres a “genocide” and challenging Carney to do the same.

Carney responded that the situation is “horrible,” but that he would not use the word and “politicize” the crisis. The NDP leader also turned his ire on Poilievre, alleging the Conservative leader’s promise to cut funding to the United Nations’ refugee agency — which has faced allegations that some of its staff were tied to Hamas — is “disgusting” since it paints the entire organization as a terrorist group. “It’s the promotion of hate,” Singh charged.

On Thursday, the leaders will meet again for an English-language debate at 8 p.m. It will be moderated by TVO journalist Steve Paikin.

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