Tonight will be a test for Carney — and Poilievre
Hi there, I’m senior reporter J.P. Tasker in the parliamentary bureau.
Tonight’s French-language debate will be a test of strength for Carney and Poilievre, the two front-running candidates.
Carney is a political neophyte who had a relatively easy go of it getting elected to the top job.
He participated in two party-organized debates during this year’s Liberal leadership race but they were anything but hard-hitting. His opponents were largely deferential and he faced only gentle pushback which left him relatively unscathed.
Poilievre, a seasoned political operative and politician who has held elected office for more than 20 years, was put through his paces when vying for the party’s top job in 2022.
His main opponents in that contest, former Quebec premier Jean Charest and Brampton, Ont., Mayor Patrick Brown had him on defensive throughout the debates, challenging him on his support for the Freedom Convoy and his promise to fire Tiff Macklem, the governor of the Bank of Canada — a position that is typically above the partisan fray.
Simply put, Poilievre, who has also earned a reputation as an attack dog in Parliament over his decades in politics, has more experience on the debate stage. Carney, as our colleague Ashley Burke said, is a relative newcomer.
