2 weeks Ago By [email protected] (Susan Delacourt)
Three leaders walked on to a stage in Montreal on Thursday night with one mission — to take the front-runner shine off Liberal Leader Mark Carney. If there was any doubt about Carney’s lead in this election, it was dispelled within minutes after the opening of the English-language leaders’ debate. None of it seemed to rattle Carney, who chose not to attack back, even as he was accused repeatedly of being just another version of Justin Trudeau or not up to the task of dealing with Donald Trump.
“You sir, are not a change,” Pierre Poilievre said to Carney, in what was a repeated theme for the Conservative leader throughout the evening. Carney bit back a couple of times, but he seemed more amused than offended by the relentless pursuit of his lead. “I know it may be difficult, Mr.
Poilievre. You spent years running against Justin Trudeau and the carbon tax, and they’re both gone, OK?” Carney said. It was a definite tone shift from the French-language debate the night before, which Carney was generally deemed to have won because he avoided any missteps.
For the second debate, Poilievre and the other opposition leaders, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet, clearly decided they needed to take a stronger run at Carney. “They’re coming at you from both sides,” debate moderator Steve Paikin told Carney within the first half-hour. So it went for the entire debate.
Carney even joked toward the end of the debate that he wanted to ask himself a question, since everyone else was. The exchanges between Carney and Poilievre — one of whom will end up as prime minister after the April 28 election — were sharp but civil. Poilievre wasn’t there to be the attack dog he has been in Parliament or in his own previous leadership debates within the Conservative party.
Standing directly beside Carney, he kept hammering away at how his differences with this leader are policy-based, not personal, as they were so much with Trudeau. That’s not just because Trudeau is gone. It is also a clear recognition that Poilievre lost his huge lead in the polls because of the “likability” issue, and the Conservative leader was doing his best on Thursday night not to appear unlikeable.
In an unexpectedly touching moment, in fact, Poilievre closed the night with an emotional expression of regret that he wasn’t able to personally meet all the people who attend his events and hear the stories of their struggles. “I want you to know out there I haven’t forgot about you,” Poilievre said, his voice shaking. It was a good night for Poilievre, all things considered, so it will be interesting to watch the polls in the days ahead to see whether this debate makes a difference for him.
In his other interventions, the Conservative leader used his time wisely, laying out all the ways in which a Conservative government would represent major change from the past 10 years of Liberal rule. For voters who have not been following the election campaign closely, Poilievre laid out the ways they would get a government tougher on crime, more focused on affordability and more supportive of pipelines and the energy sector. For the other two leaders on stage, the second debate had the same mission as the first night — to stay in the game, and to persuade voters that a minority Parliament would be the best outcome on April 28.
Singh left no illusions he was competing with Carney; just that he needed to be there to keep the Liberal leader on the path of progressivism. There was much more of Trump in this second night of debates than in the first, with the proceedings kicking off on what all leaders would do to deal with the tariff threat. They all talked of the need to be “strong,” and their agreement was more pronounced than any differences.
Will that persist when the election is all over? A question for another day. There will be some who argue that Carney should have used this appearance — which for many voters will be their first real introduction to the man who has only recently become prime minister. Some, especially diehard Liberals, will say that this was a perfect chance to chip away at Poilievre, but Carney seemed content to let Singh do most of that for him.
But Carney was more prime minister than Liberal leader on that stage, scribbling notes and responding with detailed policy replies. As this campaign has progressed, it’s been clear that Carney benefits in public opinion when that’s the hat he’s wearing. Certainly that’s how he was being treated on Thursday night.
His rivals made it abundantly clear that he’s not just prime minister now, but the one strongly in the running to stay in that job. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha.
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