The leaders of Canada’s four major federal parties have been grilled about their response to US President Donald Trump and clashed over energy and housing in their first televised debate of the country’s election campaign.
The French-language face-off marked a key moment in the election as it gave leaders a chance to woo voters in the seat-rich province of Quebec.
It was also a big test for Liberal leader Mark Carney, who has a slight lead in the polls, but whose French is the weakest among the federal leaders. He at times struggled to articulate his points on stage.
There is a second debate in English on Thursday, before Canadians vote on 28 April.
On the stage were the four main party candidates: Liberal leader and current Prime Minister Carney, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, Bloc Québécois leader Yves-François Blanchet, and leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP), Jagmeet Singh.
The debate was moderated by Radio-Canada journalist Patrice Roy.
Mr Roy opened the forum saying that Canada’s short 36-day federal election had been “hijacked by Trump”, and asked each leader to outline two campaign promises unrelated to the US or its tariffs.
But soon afterwards, Mr Roy plunged into a question on how each party would handle the trade war with the US, calling it the “elephant in the room”.
Trump has implemented blanket 25% tariffs on goods from Canada, with an exemption on products covered by the USMCA – a North American free trade deal. Canada is also hit with global US tariffs on steel and aluminium and cars.
The president has also publicly mused about Canada becoming the 51st US state.
Poilievre, of the opposition Conservatives, accused the governing Liberals of weakening the country over the past decade, making Canada more vulnerable to economic threats.
Carney touted his experience as a former central banker for both Canada and the UK, as well as his time in the private sector.
“[Trump] respects people who understand the world and how the private sector works,” Carney said.
Singh, of the left-leaning NDP, sought to paint both Poilievre and Carney as the wrong option for Canadians whose jobs may be affected by US tariffs.
“Both will cut taxes for millionaires and billionaires,” he said.
For Carney, the French-language debate was arguably the first major test of the campaign trail.
A second debate will be held on Thursday night with the contenders speaking in English.
That forum will be more widely watched nationwide, but the stakes were high on Wednesday for Carney’s Liberals, which are leading in Quebec where the majority of French-speaking Canadians live.
His French was the weakest on stage, and he often kept his answers brief and sometimes struggled to get his points across in a debate format with opportunities for rapid exchanges.
He also faced the most frequent attacks as the others leaders tried to tie him to the Liberal record of former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who resigned last month.
“We are still talking about the same party, the same caucus,” the Bloc’s Blanchet said.
He added: “It’s not because you change the leader that you change your philosophy.”
Carney countered that he had accomplishments despite only being sworn in as PM last month. He had “just arrived”, he said.
There was a moment of levity when Mr Roy asked the leaders if they were buying fewer US products – like many Canadians are in the face of tariffs – at the grocery store.
Carney had admitted in an interview early this month that he does not do his own groceries when asked if he still buys US strawberries.
Singh and Blanchet both said they bought Canadian berries. Carney said he had given up US wine, while Poilievre said he buys Canadian beef.
Trump was not the only issue on the agenda. The leaders were asked about their plan to address Canada’s housing crisis, and how they would balance climate and the economy.
On housing, Poilievre vowed to cut taxes and red tape that he says act as a barrier to home building.
“We don’t need more bureaucracy, we need more front doors,” the Conservative leader said in a jab directed at Carney.
But the two found common ground on energy, saying the country should ramp up its oil and gas production.
Carney said climate remains a priority for his party, adding that he would focus on producing “low-risk”, “low-carbon” oil.
On immigration, there was also wide agreement that Canada must look at its capacity to integrate newcomers and asylum seekers.
Canada has seen a rapid population boom in recent years and social and housing infrastructure has struggled to catch up.
Canadian border officials recently noted an uptick in asylum seekers looking to cross the Quebec-US border as a result of the Trump administration’s hardline immigration policies.
Absent from the debate stage was the Green Party. In a last-minute decision by the debate commission, it was disqualified for failing to meet the criteria by not endorsing candidates in at least 90% of Canada’s federal ridings, or constituencies.
The party, which had two MPs in parliament when the election was called, also failed to meet the threshold of at least 4% in national support.
Green Party co-leader Jonathan Pedneault called the commission’s decision “baseless” and “undemocratic”.
It wasn’t the only change to the debate.
On Tuesday, the start time was officially moved forward by two hours to accommodate an NHL game between the Montreal Canadiens and the Carolina Hurricanes, with a spot in the Stanley Cup play-offs at stake.
