4 federal leaders fight to woo Quebec voters in fiery French-language debate
Leaders go head-to-head on abortion, medically assisted death, secularism and climate
Four federal leaders clashed on the environment, the economy and Quebec's place in Canada as they sought to appeal to Quebec voters in the TVA French-language debate on Wednesday night.
Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau, Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet appeared on TVA, one of Quebec's most widely watched networks and reaches a large audience of francophones outside of Montreal.
The station is also known for its unique debate format, which features one-on-one exchanges between the leaders that tend to make it particularly confrontational.
The debate started off with a fiery exchange between Blanchet and Scheer, who were asked to defend their positions on abortion. Blanchet said that he is unequivocally against opening up the abortion debate and that anyone in his party who had a differing position would be removed.
Scheer responded by saying he would always vote to support a woman's right to choose — but the ambiguity in his answer opened the floor to questions from all three leaders about what he, personally, believed.
Watch: Justin Trudeau presses Andrew Scheer on his views on abortion
The three-against-one dynamic continued into the second part of the debate, when Trudeau and Singh faced off on legislation regarding medically assisted dying.
Singh said that he felt the current criteria regarding the right to die are too restrictive and Trudeau said his government could be open to adjusting those restrictions.
When the floor was opened to all four, Singh asked the leaders to state their positions on a woman's right to choose and medically assisted dying. When Scheer wavered in his answer, Trudeau alluded that there were three leaders being clear in their positions and one not being direct.
Environment and economy
The leaders also faced tough questions from moderator Pierre Bruneau, who pointedly asked Scheer how he would explain to the 500,000 people who marched in the Montreal climate strike that he plans on being a champion of the oil and gas sector.
Scheer argued that the carbon tax "doesn't work" and that Canada's oil and gas industry has very high environmental standards. He struggled to give a clear answer when asked to defend his position on imposing a pipeline on Quebec.
Blanchet retorted that Scheer believes "the free market and divine intervention" would solve the climate crisis.
Trudeau was also asked how he would respond to Canadians who feel "betrayed" that he purchased the Trans Mountain pipeline. He responded that his government has a better record on the environment than any other government in Canadian history.
The leaders also clashed on asylum seekers, drug policy, and Quebec's place in Canada.
Trudeau needs to appeal to francophone voters outside of Montreal, a demographic whose support he is counting on to offset potential losses in other regions. Trudeau said he is against Bill 21, and hasn't ruled out intervening. He argued his government is committed to defending minority rights, drawing a comparison to francophones outside of Quebec.
Watch: Justin Trudeau, Jagmeet Singh and Yves-François Blanchet spar over Bill 21
Singh went slightly further, calling the bill "discriminatory" and calling on Quebec to not isolate itself. He largely focused his debate efforts on jabbing Scheer, saying a Conservative might cut taxes for some, but would severely slash services.
Blanchet makes his mark
The debate was especially high-stakes opportunity for Blanchet, a rookie debater, who is hoping the Bloc can make major gains in this election.
On his home turf, he challenged his counterparts to define Quebec's place in Canada, sending the three leaders scrambling to defend their positions in support of Quebec values.
When Scheer appealed to Quebecers to vote for Conservatives as the only way to get rid of a Trudeau government, Blanchet asked Scheer if that means he's accomplished nothing in the past four years, just because he didn't form a government in 2015.
Watch: Scheer tells Blanchet that Quebecers must elect Conservative MPs to defeat Trudeau
In his closing statement, he appealed for voters in Quebec to "vote for women and men who resemble you" and will defend Quebec.
Green Leader Elizabeth May and People's Party Leader Maxime Bernier were not invited to this debate.
