Unelected Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney declined to participate in a French-language debate against his election rivals hosted by Quebec’s TVA, his Liberal Party confirmed on Monday, resulting in the debate being canceled.
The leaders of other major parties in the country, who had agreed to enter the debate, fiercely attacked Carney for avoiding defending his political views in what was likely to be one of the most-watched French-language events of the current election cycle. The leader of the Conservative Party, Pierre Poilievre – who is closest to frontrunner Carney in the polls – accused Carney of being “too afraid” to speak French for an extended period of time in a debate.
“The main political parties had until today to confirm their participation,” Quebecor Media, the company that owns TVA, said in a statement on Monday, according to the Montreal Gazette. “Sadly, although the Bloc Québécois, the Conservative Party of Canada, and the NDP [New Democratic Party] accepted the broadcaster’s invitation, TVA regrets to announce that it has been forced to cancel this Face-à-Face event due to the Liberal Party of Canada’s refusal to participate.”
Carney has called for a general election on April 28, months ahead of the late October legal deadline to hold the election. He has been prime minister for less than a month, chosen to lead the Liberal Party in an early March election open only to a sliver of Party members. Carney’s ascent is the result of former Liberal leader Justin Trudeau, who served as prime minister for a decade, announcing in January that he would resign after facing an internal revolt in his party over his poor handling of Canadian-American relations, particularly after a disastrous meeting with then-President-elect Donald Trump in late November in Florida.
Prior to becoming prime minister, Carney had served as the president of both the Bank of Canada and Bank of America, as well as serving as a shadow adviser intermittently for Trudeau on issues such as climate alarmism and response to the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic. Carney had never held public office or been elected to any position.
Given his lack of experience in public, the volume of material showing Carney speaking French is minimal. He has participated in only one debate in the language against Liberal rivals for leadership of the party in February. Observers described his French as poor and Carney suffered a particularly unfortunate gaffe when he told the audience, “We agree with Hamas.”
After the debate, reporters asked Carney if he felt that he knew French well enough to lead the party.
“Carney started answering in French before switching to English,” the National Post reported.
Carney’s refusal to join the TVA debate, which resulted in the fiscally challenged network canceling the event, followed Carney himself telling journalists that he would, in fact, be there. On Monday, Carney responded to a journalist asking about the debate, in French, “Why not?”
Carney himself has not addressed his absence at the event. The Liberal Party issued an official confirmation that he would not attend after Quebecor Media announced the event cancelation.
“Mr. Carney … looks forward to participating in the Leaders’ Debate Commission debates, which were confirmed today for April 16 and 17 in Montreal,” Liberal Party spokesperson Guillaume Bertrand said, without offering an explanation for why Carney would not attend the TVA debate. One of the Leaders’ Debate Commission debates is expected to be in French.
The Montreal Gazette, citing an anonymous alleged Liberal Party source, claimed that Carney did not want to join the debate because TVA had asked the parties to pay for it. The channel reportedly asked the parties to pitch in $75,000 each to pay for production, explaining that it had struggled significantly with its budget and wanted to produce the event in light of its importance, but could not do so without some financial aid. Canada’s National Post described the TVA debate as a “must-see event” in prior elections, and its absence a significant loss for information-gathering Francophone Canadian voters.
Carney’s rivals responded to the news with skepticism that the financial contribution was the issue that led to the Liberals declining to attend. Poilievre attributed the decision to fear.
“The Liberals want to be re-elected for a 4th term, but their leader is too afraid to debate me in French,” he said in a statement on social media. “If Mark Carney is too fragile to debate other leaders, how can he stand up to Donald Trump?”
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.
Jagmeet Singh, the leader of the far-left NDP, described Carney’s decision as showing a “lack of respect” towards Quebec in particular.
“There are issues that are very unique to Quebec, language issues, issues that are hitting differently in Quebec,” he asserted.
The deputy leader of the NDP, Alexandre Boulerice, called the move “very insulting to Quebec,” accusing Carney of choosing “to hide and not answer questions in French.”
Bloc Québécois leader Yves-François Blanchet, like Poilievre, questioned Carney’s ability to negotiate tariff policy with President Trump if he feared discussing domestic issues with French speakers.
“The Liberal leader claims to have the strength and courage to confront Donald Trump, but he doesn’t even have the courage to come and speak to Quebecers. He disqualifies himself, and Quebecers will pass judgment without appeal,” Blanchet told reporters.
