Prime Minister Mark Carney says he’s “not hiding” from a second French-language debate and the reason he won’t participate is that Green Party leaders were not invited.
Carney spoke about his stance on the issue during a campaign stop in Halifax on March 25, after being accused by some opposition parties of avoiding the debate.
The previous day in Newfoundland, Carney had answered “why not?” when asked by reporters whether he would attend the debate organized by Quebec television station TVA. He then added that all party leaders should attend.
“I said that ‘why not’ if we have a debate with all of the leaders of the parties, I now realize that the leaders of the Greens were not invited,” Carney said in Halifax on March 25.
Carney’s campaign said on March 24 he would not be participating in the TVA debate, which has since been cancelled.
“If he is afraid to have the debate, how is he going to have the courage to stand up against Donald Trump?” Poilievre said during a March 25 campaign stop in the Toronto area.
“I’m not hiding at all,” Carney said in Halifax, adding he will participate in the debates in French and English overseen by the Leaders’ Debates Commission, taking place in Montreal on April 16 and 17.
Carney also said he spent more time in Quebec than any other candidate during the Liberal leadership campaign and that he has “engaged” on major issues for the province, such as culture, French language, and supply management.
TVA was charging each party $75,000 to run its debate, citing the need to cover production costs. The Bloc, Tories, and NDP were on board.
Liberal candidate Jean-Yves Duclos, a former Trudeau government cabinet minister, told a Quebec City area radio station on March 25 that there was an issue with the cost of the debate when asked why Carney was not participating.
Facing pushback from the host about this explanation, Duclos said there will still be two “very good debates.”
Duclos, who was formerly the Liberals’ Quebec lieutenant, also defended Carney’s French-speaking abilities, saying that he himself makes mistakes when speaking in English.
“It’s the same for Mr. Carney, he’s anglophone, he speaks in French and he has an accent and he’s not always easy to understand, but nevertheless he’s an extremely competent economist,” said Duclos.
The Green Party said in a statement it had not received an invitation to the TVA debate and if it had the invite would have been “shredded.” The party criticized the entry fee, saying it raises concerns about “pay-to-play politics.” The Green Party was represented by two MPs in the previous session of Parliament.
Poilievre said on March 25 he would pay the entry fee for Carney and Green Party co-leader Elizabeth May to attend the TVA debate.
“[Carney] says that he doesn’t want to debate because Elizabeth May has not been invited. Well, I‘ll invite her. So let’s invite Elizabeth May,” he said. “I’ll pay the fee.”
