Route links
- News
- Canadian politics
- Canada
The audience, especially in favor of Charest and Poilievre, sometimes stole the show, chanting, applauding, or even booing so loudly that the moderator regularly stopped the debate.
Date Posted:
May 25, 2022 • 2 hours ago • 5 minutes reading • 58 comments Candidates Roman Baber, left, Pierre Poilievre and Jean Charest, right, participate in the debate on conservative leadership in the French language on Wednesday 25 May 2022 in Laval, Que. Photo by Ryan Remiorz / The Canadian Press
Content of the article
It was a verbal fight between Patrick Brown and Jean Charest’s “little coalition” against Pierre Poilievre on stage, but even stronger among the crowd’s supporters during the only debate in French on Wednesday night.
Announcement 2
This ad has not yet been uploaded, but your article continues below.
Content of the article
The six candidates — Scott Aitchison, Roman Baber, Patrick Brown, Jean Charest, Leslyn Lewis, and Pierre Poilievre — met in Laval, Que., North of Montreal, for the final of the three debates before the vote. September 10th.
But the debate quickly turned into a three-way fight between Poilievre, Charest and Brown, with the latter two focusing their attention on the perceived race leader. Towards the end of the debate, Poilievre even referred to them as a “small coalition.”
Baber, Lewis and Aitchison rarely spoke during the frequent segments of open debate, in large part because they could not speak French without reading their notes.
Candidates clashed in front of a crowd of about 600 people, who erupted in applause and chanted Charest’s name aloud as the candidates took to the stage. They only stopped when Charest, who was radiant, signaled them to attenuate it.
Announcement 3
This ad has not yet been uploaded, but your article continues below.
Content of the article
Unlike the English debate two weeks ago, there were no pop questions, no sad trombone and the candidates could pronounce the name of the Prime Minister this time. The Conservative Party of Canada took note of its critics and modified the formula to allow candidates to articulate their ideas more fully.
-
the debate quickly turned into a three-way fight between Poilievre, Charest and Brown, with the latter two focusing their attention on the perceived race leader.
-
The Conservative Party is ending its investigation into the racist email complaint
Once again, members of the public were asked to avoid clapping and applauding, otherwise the moderator would take some free time from his candidate’s speaking time.
But the crowd, which was in favor of both Charest and Poilievre, ignored the instruction and sometimes stole the show, singing, clapping, or even booing so loudly that moderator Marc-Olivier Fortin regularly stopped the debate to ask them to shut up.
Announcement 4
This ad has not yet been uploaded, but your article continues below.
Content of the article
Fortin nominated candidates on immigration, border security, health care, and specific Quebec issues, such as the Quebec law on religious symbols (Bill 21) and its controversial new law to protect the French language in the province (Act 96). ).
> Most candidates took very critical positions in both laws.
From the outset, Charest’s mastery of French allowed him to stand out and offer more complete answers than the other five candidates, whose French ranged from very good (Poilievre) to almost nonexistent (Baber and Lewis).
But he was visibly uncomfortable and less talkative when Poilievre returned to the grid (as in previous debates) about his advisory work he did for Huawei after China arrested Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor.
Announcement 5
This ad has not yet been uploaded, but your article continues below.
Content of the article
Charest slowly repeated that none of his work with Huawei was against Canada’s interests, while Poilievre pursued him with questions about how much the Chinese company paid him.
The first question of debate facing one candidate against the other was at the Roxham Road border entrance in Quebec, which has seen a steady stream of illegal immigrants. “What will you do to deal with illegal border crossings?” Fortin asked.
Only Charest responded directly to the question, promising to renegotiate the Safe Third Country agreement with the United States in order to integrate refugees in an “orderly” manner.
Poilievre said he wants to focus on removing barriers to immigration, adding with a smile that “he wouldn’t have a woman without immigration.” (His wife was born in Venezuela.)
Announcement 6
This ad has not yet been uploaded, but your article continues below.
Content of the article
Brown used the segment to shoot Poilievre, accusing the MP of backing the anti-immigration views of Ottawa convoy organizer Pat King and questioning his use of the phrase “Anglo-Saxon words” in a recent interview with Jordan Peterson podcast.
“How can we grow our store when it uses words like this?” Brown asked.
Poilievre replied, “No one can believe you, Mr. Brown.”
Conservative leadership candidates Pierre Poilievre, Patrick Brown, Scott Aitchison, Leslyn Lewis, Jean Charest and Roman Baber take part in the Conservative Party of Canada’s French-language leadership debate in Laval, Quebec, on May 25 of 2022. Photo by Ryan Remiorz / The Canadian Press
Poilievre and Brown continued their struggle in the next segment on public safety when they accused each other of breaking one law or another.
Poilievre said Brown broke Ontario’s ethical rules in 2018 when he failed to disclose a $ 375,000 loan from a close friend as the leader of Ontario’s Progressive Conservatives for his $ 2 million mortgage for a house in Lake Simcoe.
Announcement 7
This ad has not yet been uploaded, but your article continues below.
Content of the article
Brown replied, “The only person here who broke the law with Elections Canada is Mr. Poilievre.” He was referring to an incident in 2015 when Poilievre wore a party-branded T-shirt at a government press conference. He was found guilty of violating election rules two years later.
“I think the question was about public safety?” Charest intervened, before sarcastically wondering how Poilievre could talk about the issue after “supporting” the “illegal” blockades of the Freedom Convoy in Ottawa.
Then the crowd erupted in competitive chants “Charest” and “Poilievre.”
“It simply came to our notice then. The public is definitely committed, but as they have not been able to fight on stage, “former Conservative leadership candidate and deputy Lisa MacCormack Raitt wrote on social media.
Announcement 8
This ad has not yet been uploaded, but your article continues below.
Content of the article
When the discussion focused on Quebec’s Bill 21 on religious signs, Brown and Charest accused Poilievre of not having the same position depending on who he was talking to.
“You have people who speak two languages in Canada. Some people hold one position in Quebec and another in the rest of Canada. For example, Pierre Poilievre in Quebec is in favor of Bill 21, but in the rest of Canada, he is against Brown mocked.
“Is he bilingual or not, Mr. Poilievre?” added a visibly funny Charest.
Poilievre replied that the accusations of his rivals were false. “I have said that I am against law 21 across the country,” he said. “I hope Quebec will drop this law because I am in favor of free speech and freedom of religion across the country.”
Announcement 9
This ad has not yet been uploaded, but your article continues below.
Content of the article
Speaking French proved to be a challenge for most candidates.
Baber apologized for the quality of his French in his opening speech, saying he has been taking French classes at 7 a.m. and pledged to improve it.
Lewis, who was barely able to line up a few words in French in the previous leadership race in 2020, continued to struggle to speak the language of Molière. He was largely limited to reading his prepared notes. He has been taking French classes and has spent the last few days meeting with supporters in Quebec.
But he won a laugh of support from both the crowd and Charest when he accused Poilievre of being “in the potato field” with his policies on cryptocurrencies and bitcoins.
Aitchison impressed more than one viewer with a better command of the language than he had made anyone believe, but he was mostly silent during periods of open debate.
He managed to make the crowd laugh during his final statement when he deliberately repeated his website.
“Scott, I think I missed the website … what is it already?” Poilievre laughed.
Share this article on your social network
Announcements
This ad has not yet been uploaded, but your article continues below.
Published NP
Sign up to receive daily highlights from National Post, a division of Postmedia Network Inc.
By clicking the sign up button, you agree to receive the previous Postmedia Network Inc. newsletter. You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link at the bottom of our emails. Postmedia Network Inc. | 365 Bloor Street East, Toronto, Ontario, M4W 3L4 | 416-383-2300
Thanks for signing up!
A welcome email is on its way. If you don’t see it, check your junk folder.
The next issue of NP Posted will soon be in your inbox.
We encountered a problem registering you. Please try again
Comments
Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil discussion forum and encouraging all readers to share their views on our articles. Comments can take up to an hour to …