Five federal party leaders jousted over mandatory vaccination, health care and snap elections in the first of two official election debates Wednesday evening as they sought to sway francophone voters before election day on Sept. 20.
With less than two weeks to go, millions of voters were expected to tune in to the two-hour French debate and Thursday's English debate.
Debate moderator Patrice Roy kicked off the night by asking all five politicians whether in a minority situation they would commit to avoid triggering another election amid questions that continue to dog the Liberals about the need for the current one. "We did not want this election," Singh said, adding that he would respect the mandate Canadians grant the next government.
"I trust the government of Quebec. Why does Mr. Trudeau always interfere in provincial jurisdiction?" O'Toole asked.Blanchet claimed that all other parties plan to hand over funding only with conditions, "because they claim that the federal government knows more about that than the provincial governments."
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