Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer wasted no time in attacking Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau in the only English-language debate to take place during the election campaign.
The night’s most biting exchanges came between the two front-runners, especially when Scheer confronted Trudeau on the SNC-Lavalin affair.
“Mr. Trudeau, you are a phoney and fraud and you do not deserve to govern this country,” said Scheer, in his opening comments, which set the tone for his strategy on the night.
When it came time for Scheer to ask a question of any leader on the stage, he dramatically turned to Trudeau, drawing laughs from the crowd assembled at the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Que.
“When did you decide that the rules don’t apply to you?” said Scheer, before moving on to Trudeau’s initial denials about the SNC-Lavalin affair. “Those were all lies,” said Scheer.
Later in the debate, Trudeau sought a confrontation with Scheer over his personal views on abortion and gay marriage, but that was the moment the free-flowing, six-person debate devolved into cross-talk. The debate was, at times, incomprehensible as the leaders interrupted each other and jockeyed for camera time.
With just two weeks until election day and polls showing the Liberals and Conservatives locked in a dead heat, Monday’s debate may have been the last big chance for the leaders to make an impression on Canadians.
See for yourself
The Nanos three-day tracking poll showed the Liberals at 34 per cent support and the Conservatives at 33 per cent support, while an Abacus Data poll showed the Liberals at 35 per cent and the Conservatives at 33 per cent. Either way, this is an election battle being fought within the margin of error.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh may have taken a look at those polls and sensed how the debate would turn out because he fired off some of the best lines of the night, usually in reference to the bickering going on between the two front-runners.
“What we have here is Mr. Trudeau and Mr. Scheer arguing about who is worst for Canada,” said Singh, who suggested a discussion about who would be best for Canada instead.
As Trudeau and Scheer argued about their climate change plans Singh broke into the debate, saying “you do not need to choose between Mr. Delay and Mr. Deny.”
And twice in the debate, Singh was mistaken for Scheer, once by Trudeau and another time by moderator Dawna Friesen.
“How does this keep happening? I wore a bright orange turban on purpose today,” said Singh, to laughs from the crowd.
Similarly, Green Party Leader Elizabeth May looked to interject, especially on climate issues and to differentiate her party from Singh’s NDP on progressive issues. At one point, May said Scheer’s proposal to cut foreign aid by a quarter is “the worst idea in your whole non-platform,” referring to the fact that the Conservatives have so far declined to release a full platform.
Aside from Scheer’s direct attack on Trudeau, the opening of the debate was consumed by Maxime Bernier, the leader of the People’s Party of Canada. The rest of the leaders were encouraged to scuffle with Bernier about controversial comments he has made about immigration in Canada and about teen climate activist Greta Thunberg.
While taking on Bernier, who has called for lower levels of immigration and complained about “climate hysteria,” Trudeau delivered a line the Liberals hope will stick: “Your role on this stage right now seems to be to say publicly what Mr. Scheer believes privately,” said Trudeau.
Immediately, the Liberals posted those words on Trudeau’s Twitter account and paid to promote the message on the social media platform.
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet took centre stage during a debate about Quebec’s Bill 21, the law forbidding religious symbols in some public service jobs, but struggled to impose himself in other topics. At one point, speaking about the government’s purchase of the Trans Mountain pipeline, he referred to Alberta as “over there,” and repeatedly referred to “the provinces and Quebec.”
When he referred to the Canadian Constitution, he described it as “yours, not mine.”
On Bill 21, Trudeau took Singh to task for not promising to intervene in the provincial law, one of the few times he took direct aim at the NDP leader. Although Trudeau hasn’t promised to intervene in the court fight over the secularism law he has said he won’t close the door on the idea.
In response, Singh sounded a note he has used repeatedly on the campaign, criticizing Trudeau for his sarcastic response to protesters from Grassy Narrows First Nation who interrupted a Liberal fundraiser to complain about mercury poisoning in their community.
“What kind of prime minister does that?” said Singh, in one of the few moments when he and the Conservative leader were able to find common ground.
“I wish I had that answer, but it’s one that doesn’t deserve to be re-elected,” said Scheer.
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