Liberal Party Leader Mark Carney is facing backlash after backing out of a prominent French language leaders debate, only hours after confirming that he would take part.
The TVA Network Face-to-Face debate has taken place during several federal elections, and has become one of the most anticipated French language debates during the campaign trail, but this year’s debate will no longer move forward without the participation of all invited party leaders.
The TVA Network previously announced that the NDP, Liberal, Bloc Quebecois, and Conservative leaders had all received an invitation, but would have to pay $75,000 each to contribute to the cost of putting on the televised show. The TVA confirmed on Monday that most leaders agreed to participate despite the cost, except for Carney.
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In an email statement to Now Toronto, Liberal Party Spokesperson Guillaume Bertrand, confirmed that Carney will not participate.
“Mr. Carney will not participate in the proposed “Face à Face” organized by TVA. He looks forward to participating in the official debates organized by the Leaders’ Debates Commission,” Bertrand said on Tuesday.
Carney’s team did not confirm the reason behind his refusal to participate in the TVA Network’s debate.
Hours before the debate was cancelled,Carney told the media that he would participate in the TVA debate when questioned by a reporter during a campaign stop in Newfoundland.
“Why not?,” he said. “There will be debates between the leaders, all the leaders.”
At a campaign stop on Tuesday, Carney clarified to reporters that he refused the invitation because the Green Party leaders were not invited.
“I said… ‘Why not’ if we have a debate with all the leaders of the parties,’ I now realize that the leaders of the Greens were not invited,” Carney said.
The sudden change in tone has left Carney being slammed by fellow candidates.
“The Liberals want to be re-elected for a 4th term, but their leader is too afraid to debate me in French,” Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre wrote in a post on X.
Bloq Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet also spoke on the situation to reporters on Monday.
“I don’t know what he is not afraid of. This guy is supposed to be strong enough to face Donald Trump, which is one of the biggest threats to democracy and freedom in the longest time,” he said. “I’m saying to him, ‘let’s come and face the issue.’”
Blanchet says he feels this “robs” the Bloc Quebecois the opportunity to speak on a very important platform.
“This is not the behaviour of somebody that has been well-equipped with courage,” he said,
The move has also sparked outrage from local Quebec politicians who took to X to speak out against Carney.
“Mark Carney’s refusal to debate in French on TVA is nothing less than a slap in the face to every Québécois—Francophone and Anglophone alike,” Mayor of Hampstead, Quebec, Jeremy Levi said.
“By turning his back on French, Carney is turning his back on Quebec itself,” Levi added.
I am a proud third-generation Québécois and an anglophone. Mark Carney’s refusal to debate in French on TVA is nothing less than a slap in the face to every Québécois—Francophone and Anglophone alike. This isn’t just a matter of language; it’s a question of respect, of principle,…
— Mayor Jeremy Levi (@jerlevi) March 24, 2025
Carney’s team confirmed to Now Toronto that he will participate in the scheduled April 16 and 17 debates set to take place in Montreal.
The first debate on the 16 will be a French language debate, followed by an English debate on the 17.
