Liberal Party of Canada announces French, English leadership debates in Montreal

The Liberal Party of Canada announced Saturday afternoon it will host two leadership debates — one in English and another in French — in Montreal at the end of February.

In a news release, the Liberal Party said the French debate will take place on Feb. 24 and the English debate will occur the day after, on Feb. 25.

So far, five candidates remain in the race to replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

They are: Mark Carney, former governor of the Bank of Canada; Chrystia Freeland, former finance minister and deputy prime minister; Karina Gould, former House leader; Frank Baylis, former Liberal MP; and Ruby Dhalla, also a former Liberal MP.

But it's not guaranteed all five leadership hopefuls will make it to the debate stage, as there's a hefty financial hurdle to clear the week before the debates.

To compete to become the next Liberal leader, and by extension Canada's next prime minister, candidates need to pay $350,000, made in instalments. A hefty sum, $125,000, was due at 5 p.m. Friday — which all five candidates paid.

Two initial payments of $50,000 served to launch candidates' campaigns and then obtain access to the party's membership list. The final instalment of $125,000 is due Feb. 17.

In January, Freeland called on the Liberal Party in an open letter to hold four debates — two in English and two in French — to "show Canadians that we, as a party, are up to the task of defeating Pierre Poilievre."

"Canadians deserve to see us debate our ideas and the path forward for our party and our country without delay," Freeland also wrote in her letter to her competitors that was shared widely.

The Liberal Party will choose its next leader — and Canada's next prime minister — on March 9.