Canadians still have mixed feelings over Liberal Leader Mark Carney’s French skills after the French-language debate, following concerns over the prime minister’s bilingualism.
Federal election candidates, including Carney, the Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet, attended the French-language leaders’ debate hosted by CBC in Montreal, Que. on Wednesday evening to discuss a range of important issues to voters including trade war responses, housing plans, environment policies and the economy.
The debate came after many Canadians had raised concerns over Carney’s French skills, wondering whether the former Bank of Canada Governor would be able to keep up to other candidates.
Earlier this month, the Toronto Star reported on an exclusive Abacus Data poll revealing that 36 per cent of Canada’s Francophone community and 25 per cent of Canadians in general believed that Carney’s French was not good enough to lead the country.
Carney’ also received backlash for not participating in TVA’s “Face-à-Face” debate in French which was subsequently cancelled.
At the time, the Liberal leader told reporters that he was looking forward to participating in other French-language debates to which all candidates were invited, as the Green Party had not been invited by TVA to join.
The incident also left many wondering if the current prime minister was running from having to face the other candidates in his second language, including Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, who made remarks about it in an X post.
The Liberals want to be re-elected for a 4th term, but their leader is too afraid to debate me in French. If Mark Carney is too fragile to debate other leaders, how can he stand up to Donald Trump?
— Pierre Poilievre (@PierrePoilievre) March 24, 2025
Let's put Canada first – for a change.
At the time, the Liberal leader told reporters that he was looking forward to participating in other French-language debates to which all candidates were invited, as the Green Party had not been invited by TVA to join.
However, speaking with reporters at a press conference on Mar. 25 in Halifax, N.S., Carney said that he was eager to participate in other debates in French, mentioning Wednesday’s debate, and saying that he is committed to Quebec.
“During my leadership campaign, I spent more time in Quebec than any other province,” he said.
Carney also added in French, “I’m involved in major issues for Quebec like culture, the French language, supply management and other issues unique to Quebec.”
REACTIONS TO CARNEY’S FRENCH IN LEADERS’ DEBATE
Despite issues previously raised about the Liberal leaders’ fluency in French, many Canadians online revealed they were positively surprised, saying that they believe his French is appropriate enough to lead Canada.
“Three surprising revelations for the French debate last night. 1. Singh’s french is really good! 2. Carney’s french was better than I expected. 3. Poilievre’s french was worse than I expected,” one user said on X.
“Carney’s french as shown yesterday is more than functional,” another user added.
“Carney’s French isn’t perfect, but it’s enough to be understood. He passed the test. Like Blanchet. His English isn’t perfect, but it will be understood. A little tolerance wouldn’t hurt in this country,” a different user also chimed in.
“I’d say: trophy goes to Carney for most improved command of the French language,” another voter also added.
On the other hand, some users are still doubtful of Carney’s ability to communicate in French, saying that he still has much to improve in order to communicate with Francophone voters.
“I thought Carney’s French was greatly improved on Sunday night on Tout le monde en parle. But last night he was almost back to where he was before. It was OK I guess, but there were moments where it was difficult to understand what he meant. I’m not just talking about mistakes,” a user commented.
“I think English translation covered up what I heard was a poor showing from Carney. I admit I am not bilingual, but those who listened and understand french have stated that Mr Carney struggled to get his message across,” another user chimed in.
