Carney defends knowledge of Quebec culture, Poilievre insists he's no 'mini-Trump' on Tout le monde en parle

Raffy Boudjikanian · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 13, 2025 10:21 PM EDT | Last Updated: 9 minutes ago

Mark Carney and Pierre Poilievre faced the captious glare of the mega-popular Radio-Canada speech amusement Tout le monde en parle connected Sunday successful an effort to woo francophone viewers, with the Liberal person being pressed connected his taste consciousness of the state and his Conservative rival differentiating himself against perceptions successful Quebec helium is simply a "mini-Trump."

The show, which regularly attracts up to a cardinal pairs of eyeballs successful vote-rich Quebec, is wide seen arsenic a trial for leaders trying to triumph implicit voters successful a state that sends 78 MPs to the House of Commons, the largest fig extracurricular of Ontario.

"My French is not perfect. I effort to beryllium transparent, I marque gaffes," Carney acknowledged, erstwhile pressed by big Guy A. Lepage. 

Both Poilievre and Carney person hurdles to flooded successful Quebec's unsocial governmental landscape.

Quebec is the lone state wherever Poilievre and the Conservatives did not scope the heights they had successful sentiment polling successful the days earlier Justin Trudeau had announced his resignation and Donald Trump had assumed the U.S. presidency, with the enactment remaining down the sovereignist Bloc Québécois successful elector support.

And Carney has been astatine the centre of a fig of Quebec-related mistakes that his governmental opponents person been keen to prehend connected successful the aboriginal days of this campaign. 

Despite those moments, the CBC Poll Tracker inactive has Carney acold up of his rivals successful Quebec, with the Liberals poised to person 42.4 per cent of the fashionable vote, the Bloc and the Conservatives jockeying down him astatine 23.5 and 23.2 per cent, respectively.

The Liberals typically cannot signifier a bulk authorities without important enactment successful Quebec, with Trudeau denied successful the past 2 elections acknowledgment to a surging Bloc Québécois. 

Challenged connected his economical credentials, Carney pointed retired that successful 2008, arsenic politician of the Central Bank of Canada, helium worked with then-Quebec premier Jean Charest to get the state done the worst of the recession. 

He was besides asked astir imaginable pipelines going done the state successful the future.

"Quebecers usage 355,000 barrels of lipid per day," Carney said, adding astir of that comes from the United States, and insisting determination are ways to trim that dependency. 

"We would lone bash it if we person societal acceptability," helium said. 

Lepage besides pushed him connected his presumption regarding the arguable Law 21, provincial authorities which bans nationalist assemblage workers successful positions of authorization from wearing overt spiritual symbols specified arsenic hijabs oregon yarmulkes portion connected duty. The Liberals person vowed to intervene against the instrumentality astatine the Supreme Court of Canada.

"It's precise technical," Carney said, past added it is important to equilibrium the rights of individuals versus those of society. 

Carney besides defended his publically expressed misgivings connected over-reliance of the notwithstanding clause, a defence Quebec has invoked some for Law 21 and its connection law, Bill 96, which the Liberals person vowed to situation too. 

"It's a question for jurists," helium said. 

Poilievre: 'I person a wholly antithetic story' from Trump

As for Poilievre, helium faced questions implicit the cognition successful Quebec helium is excessively Trump-like. "Are you a mini-Trump, a mean Trump oregon a ample Trump?" Lepage's co-host Dave-Éric Ouellet asked the Conservative Leader. 

"I measurement 180 pounds," Poilievre quipped successful response, and past contrasted his ain "modest" inheritance arsenic the kid of 2 middle-class teachers successful Alberta to the U.S. president's inherited household wealth. 

"I person a wholly antithetic communicative from Donald Trump," helium said.

When asked astir whether helium is frustrated polls thin to favour Carney arsenic a amended negotiator with the president,  Poilievre replied: "It's definite that if I tin look Guy A. Lepage, I tin look Donald Trump."

"Yes, but I don't person tariffs," Lepage said. 

Poilievre leaned connected his family inheritance again erstwhile confronted by Lepage with however helium has travel disconnected arsenic much assertive for overmuch of his tenure arsenic absorption person — but has taken to smiling much often connected the run trail.

"I talked to Lucien Bouchard," helium said, revealing a transportation with the erstwhile Brian Mulroney-era Progressive Conservative furniture curate who went connected to co-found the sovereignist Bloc Québécois aft quitting that party.

"And helium said to me, 'You request to combat for what you have,  and you are a fighter.' Sometimes, it tin beryllium aggressive, but it comes from a spot of wanting to combat for radical who request better."

Poilievre did not backmost down erstwhile questioned about his stated extremity of defunding the CBC but keeping Radio-Canada, insisting that the French-language limb of the nationalist broadcaster offers a unsocial work for Francophone audiences. 

He asserted that the quality offering successful the backstage marketplace successful English Canada is sufficient.

Carney gets a cardinal question right

When Carney appeared connected a peculiar Radio-Canada programme Cinq chefs, un élection connected the 2nd week of the campaign, helium struggled to specifically reply a question astir what helium loved regarding Quebec, naming proviso absorption arsenic portion of his reply. 

He was much astatine easiness erstwhile Lepage tested his Quebec cognition again. 

"Can you sanction a singer? A cheese?" Lepage asked.

"Coeur de Pirate!" Carney said, dropping the signifier sanction of celebrated Montreal instrumentalist Béatrice Mirelle Martin.

He was besides capable to sanction Lepage's drama group, Rock et Belles Oreilles.

When co-host Dave-Éric Ouellet asked Carney his past name, helium did not propulsion through. "That's becoming a small obscure," helium quipped.

Often, Tout le monde en parle guests stay on-set aft their interviews, joining each different connected a sofa to the broadside of the main interrogation spot, sometimes with a solid of wine. 

But Poilievre and Carney did not instrumentality around, dissimilar NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, who appeared connected past week's amusement and participated successful different segment. The Bloc's Yves-François Blanchet is scheduled to look adjacent Sunday.

Before that, the 4 leaders, on with the Green Party's co-leader Jonathan Pedneault, volition quadrate disconnected successful back-to-back French and English-language debates astatine the Maison Radio-Canada successful Montreal this Wednesday and Thursday.