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United States Liberal leadership candidates squaring off in French debate CBC ...
The four candidates vying to be the next Liberal leader and prime minister are making the case that they're best suited to handle relations with U.S. President Donald Trump.
Canada-U.S. relations was the first topic of discussion as the four contenders to replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are squaring off in the Liberal Party's French-language debate. It comes just hours after hours after Trump said he will go forward with a 25 per cent tariff on most imports from Canada next week.
Former deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland argued she has handled Trump in the past and can do it again. Freeland was the lead minister during the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) negotiations during Trump's first term.
"This is not the first time Mr. Trump is threatening us with tariffs … we responded with counter-tariffs, dollar-for-dollar, and at the end of the day we won," she said.
"Our response has to be intelligent and if we remain united, we will win. I know how to do that."
Freeland touts past negotiations with Trump, Carney says today’s Trump is different
Duration 1:15
Former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney rebutted by saying Trump is a different beast than he was during his first four years in the White House.
"He's more aggressive. In the past he wanted our markets. Now he wants our country," Carney said in reference to Trump's talk of making Canada the 51st state.
Carney said the focus should instead be on fostering Canada's economy by removing trade barriers between provinces.
- You can watch CBC News special coverage of Liberal leadership candidates' French-language debate on CBC News Network, CBC.ca and CBC Gem starting at 7:45 p.m. ET. CBC's Rosemary Barton and David Cochrane will provide analysis and cover the post-debate scrums. CBC News will stream the debate with English interpretation. You can also watch in French on Radio-Canada's website.
Karina Gould and Frank Baylis both pointed to their past experiences — as the former government House leader and a successful businessman, respectively — to handle the Trump relationship.
"What the president does respect is strength and I know how to respond to people I don't agree with," Gould said, referring to her taking on the Conservatives in the House.
"I've already negotiated hundreds of contracts with Americans and from time-to-time I've seen Mr. Trump's character at work and I know how to deal with him," Baylis said.
Carney came into the debate as the perceived front-runner, having locked up the most donations and caucus endorsements, but questions swirled about his French proficiency.
Carney had a noticeable slip up fairly early on during a segment on Gaza. In an attempt to say he agreed with previous comments on Hamas, he accidentally said "we all agree with Hamas." Freeland quickly jumped in to correct the former central banker.
All four contenders cleared their final financial hurdle last week and will be on the ballot to replace Trudeau.
On Saturday morning, the Liberal Party released the topics for the debate. In addition to Canada-U.S. relations, the candidates are discussing growing the economy, protecting the environment while securing Canada's energy future, affordability, housing, health care and other issues.
Carney has previously dropped hints about the policies he'd bring in, including: a cut to middle-class taxes, scrapping the Trudeau government's capital gains tax changes, increasing defence spending to hit the NATO target by 2030 and a "boost" to the incomes of young Canadians. But many of his proposals have also been void of specifics.
Carney has been pitching himself to voters as an economically minded leader who can guide Canada through a potentially tumultuous period spurred by the threat of U.S. tariffs.
Freeland spent much of the early days of the campaign distancing herself from Trudeau policies that she previously had a hand in as finance minister. She has promised to ditch the consumer carbon tax and the government's changes to the capital gains tax.
Freeland — who led Canada's response to U.S. President Donald Trump during his first term — has presented herself to voters as a tested negotiator to take on the president once again.
Gould has focused much of her campaign on addressing affordability concerns. She's promised to widen the eligibility for Canada's employment insurance system, introduce a universal basic income program and temporarily cut the GST to four per cent for one year.
The 37-year-old has presented herself as a younger, "fresh" voice for the party, who listens to the grassroots.
Baylis has said he would reform government by introducing term limits for MPs and senators, build LNG pipelines, invest in green technology and energy efficiency and work with the provinces to modernize health-care delivery using artificial intelligence.
The Montreal business leader has been presenting himself as a man with a plan: many of his policy pitches have been presented in the style of a "three point plan" to address the issues of the day.
Dhalla disqualified
A fifth would-be candidate, Ruby Dhalla had been billing herself as the true outsider in the race. She was set to be a limited participant in the first debate after the party denied her request for a French interpreter.
On Friday, a Liberal Party committee voted to disqualify her as a candidate for violating the race's rules. Dhalla appealed that decision but the party announced Monday it is upholding her disqualification.
"This evening, after an exchange of written submissions and an oral hearing, the Liberal Party of Canada's Permanent Appeals Committee confirmed the decision of the Leadership Vote Committee to disqualify Dr. Ruby Dhalla from the 2025 Liberal leadership race," a news release from the party said.
"The party will have no further comment on this matter at this time."
Monday's debate will be followed by an English-language debate on Tuesday. The debates will be the only time all four candidates share a stage before Liberals elect their new leader on March 9.
