Prime Minister Mark Carney said the key question in Canada’s upcoming elections is to deal with Donald Trump as he faced conservative rivals in the French leadership debate on Wednesday.
Opposition Conservative leader Pierre Poilierble said in the debate that Canada needs to change Canada’s needs after 10 years of liberal control, and that Carney is like his predecessor, Justin Trudeau. Carney replied: “Polyave is not Justin Trudeau. I am not Justin Trudeau either. In this election, the question is who will face Trump?”
The exchange was the first between the two men since Carney was elected as a liberal leader in March.
Trump’s trade war and threat to make Canada the 51st state have infuriated Canadians and led to a surge in Canadian nationalism that has bolstered Carney’s liberal vote count ahead of the April 28th vote.
The discussion took place in Montreal, the largest city in Quebec, which speaks mostly French. The state has 78 of the 343 seats in the House, usually considered one of the keys to victory.
Poilliebre begs Canadians not to give liberals a fourth term. He wanted the election to be a referendum on Trudeau. Trudeau’s popularity declined towards the end of his decade as food and housing prices rose and immigration spiked.
But Trump attacked, Trudeau resigned, and Carney, the two-time central banker, became Liberal leader and prime minister after a party leader’s race.
When asked about Trudeau at a press conference after the discussion, Carney said:
“In fact, in this situation we are in, given the scale of the crisis, I think we’re focusing on economic growth.”
Yves François Blanche of the separatist block quebecoa, who has lost support for liberals in Quebec, agreed to a call for conservative change, saying the Liberals are the same party, the same pastor, the same lawmakers and the new leader.
However, public opinion has also changed. In a mid-January poll by Nanos, the Liberals took over the Conservatives by 47% to 20%. In the latest Nanos poll released Wednesday, liberals lead 8% points. In the January poll, the latest poll had a margin of 2.7 points, but the error was 3.1 points.
The French debate rose for two hours to minimize conflict with the Montreal Canadiens hockey game. The NHL teams faced the Carolina Hurricanes at 7pm ET in a game where they could win spots on the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
This is not the first time NHL hockey has put an elbow on a campaign trail. During the 2011 election, former block leader Jills Deucepe called for a debate that would be postponed for the Canadian hockey game, and his demands were granted.
The English discussion will be held on Thursday evenings.
Associated Press and Reuters
