2 days Ago By Michael Taube
Article content I never thought I’d live to see the day when a Liberal Leader in Canada refused to participate in a French language debate. Yet, that’s exactly what happened. Mark Carney seemed to agree to join the TVA French-language leaders’ debate on March 24, as he told a reporter, “why not!” – and then backed out several hours later.
This led to the debate being cancelled altogether. Why would Carney, whose campaign slogan is Canada First, want to put Quebec last? There was some chatter among Liberal sycophants that TVA’s $75,000 entry fee per party leader had been an issue. (The two CBC leaders’ debates are free.
) This seemed kind of ridiculous, since the Liberal campaign war chest is healthy. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said that he would pay the broadcaster’s fee on Carney’s behalf if he attended. Unsurprisingly, this wasn’t the reason why Carney said “non” to TVA.
Rather, he claimed it was due to the exclusion of Green Party co-leaders Elizabeth May and Jonathan Pedneault. “I said ..
. why not, if we have a debate with all of the leaders of the parties. I now realize that the leader of the Greens were not invited.
There are two leaders of the Green Party, as you know,” Carney told reporters on March 25. OK, and so what? May, who has been the Green Party leader the longest in terms of political tenure, hasn’t been invited to many leaders’ debates. This includes the 2019 and 2021 TVA debates.
I’ve always argued that May should be included, along with People’s Party of Canada leader Maxime Bernier, but that’s beside the point. This isn’t a new development for May and the Greens. There’s no reason why Carney, who was only sworn in as prime minister on March 14, should take offence to her years-long exclusion from the leaders’ debate process.
Plus, there’s no working arrangement in place between the Liberals and Greens. There was an informal arrangement for years. In 2007, May and then-Liberal leader Stephane Dion agreed not to run candidates against one another in several ridings, including her unsuccessful attempt in Central Nova.
May supported the coalition attempt between the Liberals, NDP and Bloc Quebecois to bring down then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Conservative government in 2008. Dion was reportedly going to give her some limited input if he became PM and recommend a Senate appointment. May was also invited by former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to be part of Canada’s delegation to the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris, France.
That was then, this is now. The working arrangement between the Liberals and Greens has long since evaporated. Carney doesn’t need to defend May and Pedneault.
They can fend for themselves. “As well, we have the debates, which I look forward to, overseen by the Electoral Commission, in French and in English,” Carney also said at the presser. “The 16th and 17th are the dates.
I look forward to those debates.” That’s fine, but why couldn’t he do three debates? Or five? Or 30? It’s simple: senior Liberals don’t trust him to take the debate baton and run with it too many times. TVA’s “Face-à-Face” French-language leaders’ debate reaches an average of 1.
3 million viewers, according to its parent company, Quebecor Media. That’s not an insignificant TV viewing audience in Canada. Carney’s political inexperience, awkward performances with reporters at press conferences and inability to check his ego and filter his responses, has likely led his handlers to reduce any opportunity for his “volcanic temper,” as the former economics editor for the UK’s left-wing Guardian newspaper put it , to erupt at the wrong time.
One would imagine that Carney’s team feels a bit more secure with him appearing on CBC leaders’ debates overseen by the Electoral Commission. It’ll be a more controlled environment, and the number of tough, outside-the-box questions will probably be more limited. Unless the public broadcaster decides to bring in Rosemary Barton to ask Carney whether she should still “look inside herself,” as he arrogantly told her during one of his press conferences.
As for Carney’s ability to speak French, it’s probably passable at best. This seems to go against what senior Liberals said in January during the party leadership race. Former Housing Minister Sean Fraser, who recently un-retired from politics to run again, believed it was “essential” for Trudeau’s replacement to be bilingual.
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly also said “as a Quebecer and a francophone,” the next Liberal leader’s ability to speak both French and English seemed “obvious.” Since that time, most Liberals have been content to, shall we say, fermez les bouches when it comes to Carney and the French language. Why? The PM’s final comment about skipping the TVA debate was somewhat offbeat, too.
“And I’ll add that ...
I have spent, during my leadership campaign, I spent more time in Quebec than in any other province. I’m going there in two days ..
. I’m very much out in the open.” Huh? Does Carney expect a gold star or participation medal for having spent time in la belle province during his short stint as a Canadian politician? That’s what he and other party leaders are supposed to be doing to win votes, after all.
Is Carney the type of political leader who can truly be Prime Minister for Canada’s two solitudes? Non, mesdames et messieurs. National Post.
