CANADA’S main party leaders face off Wednesday in a debate that could prove pivotal ahead of this month’s election, with Prime Minister Mark Carney’s French language skills set to be tested. Carney’s main rival on the stage in Montreal will be Pierre Poilievre, whose Conservative Party is trailing the Carney-led Liberals in most opinion polls ahead of the 28 April vote. Carney, who took over as prime minister from Justin Trudeau on 14 March, has argued that his experience as a central banker during periods of economic upheaval make him the ideal choice to confront US President Donald Trump, whose trade war threatens thousands of Canadian jobs and whose talk of annexing this country has people incensed. Poilievre has also promised to stand firm against Trump, but argues that a decade of weak economic performance under the Trudeau-led Liberals has left Canada vulnerable to hostile US trade policies. The leader of the left-wing New Democratic Party, Jagmeet Singh, the head of the Quebec separatist Bloc Quebecois, Yves-Francois Blanchet, and Green Party co-leader Jonathan Pedneault will also be on stage. But in a departure from past Canadian elections, polls indicate this year’s race is largely becoming a two-party contest, raising the debate stakes for Carney and Poilievre. “This is really a two-horse race, and it isn’t usually like that,” said Laura Stephenson, head of the political science department at Western University. — AFP
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