Image Credit: Canadian Press

By Canadian Press

Leaders Debate

Leaders gear up for English-language debate tonight after French joust

Sep 9, 2021 | 5:17 AM

GATINEAU, Que. – Five federal party leaders are licking their wounds and prepping their zingers after an occasionally testy debate yesterday that came ahead of tonight’s first and only one in English.

With under two weeks to go, millions of voters were expected to tune in to the two-hour English-language debate as well as last night’s faceoff in French.

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau, Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet and Green Party Leader Annamie Paul took part in the showdown and will convene again at 6 p.m. pacific time.

The debates come as opinion polls suggest the Liberals and Conservatives are stuck in a tight two-way race, with the NDP and Bloc poised to determine which of the two main parties emerges victorious.

The topics discussed Wednesday included health transfers to the provinces, child-care funding, climate and the COVID-19 pandemic as the politicians sought to sway francophones ahead of the election on Sept. 20.

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The spiciest exchange, however, concerned issues of Quebec identity and representation when an animated Trudeau turned on Blanchet late in the debate, proclaiming that he is also a “proud Quebecer” and that Blanchet does not have a monopoly on the province.