Speak French, understand Quebec or don’t run for leader, Liberals say

Article content

OTTAWA — A day after many Liberal MPs argued that their next leader must speak French and understand Quebec, one of their caucus colleagues — who doesn’t speak the language — announced his candidacy in the party’s leadership race.

Article content

Article content

But Liberal MP Chandra Arya isn’t worried about learning French anytime soon.

“Quebecers, like all Canadians, at the end of the day, they want to see the work to be done. It is not that whether you’re polished in French and English,” said Arya in an interview.

Article content

“What is important for Canadians is their prosperity, not for the current generation alone, but for the future generation. That is the thing that Quebecers and all Canadians look forward, and that’s what I’m going to deliver,” added the Ottawa MP.

In Quebec, the Liberals aren’t thrilled with the possibility of having a leader, much less a prime minister, who doesn’t speak their language. Historically, linguistic and regional alternation has prevailed at the helm of the Liberal Party of Canada, with the party switching between francophone and anglophone leaders.

“I think it’s good for Canadians to know that they are being represented at different times by people from different areas of the country. So, I think the tradition that the Liberal party had in terms of alternating between Quebec and the rest of Canada can be a way for Canadians to find themselves in this political party,” Quebec MP Alexandra Mendès told the National Post.

With several potential candidates still considering launching a leadership bid, bilingualism has emerged as one of the main criteria for entering the race. The last time an English-speaking leader outside Quebec won a majority for the Liberals was William Lyon Mackenzie King in 1945.

In the upcoming leadership race, the likely candidacy of former British Columbia premier Christy Clark has raised many Liberal eyebrows. As first reported by National Post on Thursday, Clark will announce she is running as a candidate in the federal Liberal leadership race, once the rules are finalized.

Clark is not fluent in French and many sources have questioned her ability to interact with francophones on the campaign trail.

Article content

Article content

A source close to Clark said she’s been studying French “intensely” and has been living on and off in Quebec for months. She has had several dinners where she’s conversed in French.

“She spends about 90 minutes a day only speaking French,” said Tyler Banham, who serves on the national campaign team for Clark.

In a call with organizers this week, Clark spoke in French for about 10 minutes, speaking about her experiences learning French in Quebec.

But for many, speaking fluently is a bare minimum.

“It is absolutely essential that our next leader be fluent in both of Canada’s official languages, be able to not only communicate and make their ideas known in both languages, but to understand all of the linguistic communities in Canada,” said Gatineau MP and Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon, who is “absolutely considering running” for leader.

Among Liberals, especially in Quebec, the rise of the Parti Québécois in the polls is seen as an example of the importance of knowing the dynamics within the province.

Article content

In 2015, Clark made headlines in the province when she said that “Quebecers are no different from British Columbians,” that “the PQ has failed in all its attempts to break up Canada,” and that she did not think the party would succeed in the future.

“There is now a generation of people, looking forward, citizens of the world, who want to create wealth, build their lives (and) be part of the world, not just Quebec or Canada,” she said at the time.

Today, Quebec federalists seem increasingly concerned about the rise of the PQ and its popular leader, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon.

“We need someone who understands very well how Quebec can fully contribute to the strength of the country. Quebec is a province that plays a major role in Canada,” said Jean-Yves Duclos, the Liberal Quebec lieutenant, on Wednesday.

However, it is not certain that Quebec’s future within the federation is at the heart of this leadership race, according to Daniel Béland, director of the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada.

“The thing is that right now at the federal level, national unity is not the most important thing. A key aspect of the Liberal leadership race is about dealing with Donald Trump, the tariffs and all sorts of things happening south of the border that will be a big issue,” he said in an interview.

Article content

Regardless of who runs, argued Béland in an op-ed Thursday, selecting a leader who is not fluent in French would be a major problem for the Liberals in Québec.

Not only because it’s the second-largest province in the country, but also it’s relatively infertile ground for the Conservatives.

“If they want to have a shot, they would be well advised to take seriously what Duclos is telling them, as you cannot succeed electorally in Québec if you don’t take the French language and the identity of the province seriously,” he wrote.

National Post

Get more deep-dive National Post political coverage and analysis in your inbox with the Political Hack newsletter, where Ottawa bureau chief Stuart Thomson and political analyst Tasha Kheiriddin get at what’s really going on behind the scenes on Parliament Hill every Wednesday and Friday, exclusively for subscribers. Sign up here. 

Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here.

Article content