Liberal officials say it's 'essential' their next party leader is bilingual
CTV
Current and former Liberal party officials, both French and English speakers, say the next Liberal leader replacing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should be bilingual.
Current and former Liberal party officials, both French and English speakers, say the next Liberal leader replacing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should be bilingual.
“In my opinion, it's essential for the leader of the Liberal party to speak both official languages,” said former Housing minister Sean Fraser, who announced in December he would not run for re-election in his Nova Scotia riding.
“If a leader doesn't have the ability to understand the reality for linguistic minorities and the populations of Quebec as well, it's not possible to be a good prime minister or a good leader of the Liberal party,” said Fraser, who is taking French courses to improve his French.
Although Manitoba MP Kevin Lamoureux said he doesn’t believe that unilingual candidates should be systematically disqualified from the race, he stressed that he would not vote for a unilingual candidate and that he would be “very uncomfortable” if his party “elects someone who is not bilingual.”
On Thursday, the Liberal party said a new leader would be announced March 9, giving potential candidates just two weeks to decide whether to seek the role. With a federal election on the horizon following Trudeau’s decision to step down as party leader, the new party boss would face Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre and NDP leader Jagmeet Singh — both of whom are fluent in French.
Former Montreal MP Frank Baylis and Nepean, Ont., MP Chandra Arya have officially confirmed they plan to run while former B.C. premier Christy Clark and former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney are among those considering a bid.
Arya has downplayed the fact that he doesn't speak French, rekindling calls for a bilingual requirement. In an interview with CBC/Radio-Canada, Arya said that mastery of the language is a secondary issue for Quebecers, who, in his opinion, are far more interested in the person being able to “deliver.”
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