The leaders of the Liberal and New Democratic parties faced polite questions on same-sex marriages, Canada's brain drain, electoral reform and a hoard of other issues from students taking part in the Great Canadian Job Interview.

The student town hall meeting, which aired on CBC Newsworld Friday, saw the two leaders share a joke on screech before answering more than 20 questions, chosen from 5,000 student e-mails.

On electoral reform, NDP Leader Jack Layton pushed for proportional representation while Liberal Leader Paul Martin agreed that reform was necessary but he was not sure which option would be best.

Layton and Martin agreed that post-secondary education needed more public funding so students, especially poorer ones, would not be hit with high tuition fees.

Greener Canada

Both men encouraged a greener, environmentally friendly Canada and in reference to a question on the Mackenzie Valley pipeline project, they agreed that the protection of the local environment was paramount.

Limited to one-minute answers, both leaders basically restated their campaign positions.

They agreed that new immigrants, especially professionals, should be able to work in their fields. Neither was opposed to same-sex marriage and both said the plight of aboriginals in Canada should be tackled aggressively by targeting poverty.

On a lighter note the two men were asked what their favorite U2 song is. Martin replied, "Beautiful Day." Layton did answer the question, preferring to say his favorite song is "If I Had a Million Dollars" by the Canadian band, Barenaked Ladies.

Conservative Leader Stephen Harper and Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe declined to appear at the live event held at Memorial University in St. John's.

Layton was accompanied to Newfoundland by eight NDP candidates, all of them under the age of 27. One of them, Rebecca Blaikie, daughter of Bill Blaikie, is running against Martin in his riding of Lasalle-Emard.

Earlier in the day, Layton, Martin and the leaders of the Conservative and Green parties took text messages from young voters on a series of questions ranging from the voting rights of prisoners to urban sprawl.

Of the four leaders, Green Party Leader Jim Harris took most easily to the lingo used in text messaging.

More than 1,000 text messages were received but less than 35 were answered.