What we learned from Radio-Canada's 'Cinq chefs' party leader interviews

French-speaking Canadians got a first taste of how the five main federal party leaders defend their platforms beyond U.S. tariff threats in the span of two hours Thursday night on Radio-Canada's Cinq chefs, une élection program.

The show featured five live interviews with the five leaders. It kicked off with the Liberals' Mark Carney, followed by Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, then the Bloc Québécois's Yves-François Blanchet, NDP's Jagmeet Singh and lastly Green Party Co-leader Jonathan Pedneault.

The leaders talked Canadian (and Quebec) sovereignty and how they would defend Canadian interests in the face of U.S. President Donald Trump — but also how they would fix the current housing crisis, make life more affordable, support workers and protect jobs. And they talked about Canada and Quebec's place in a rapidly changing world. 

Blanchet told hosts Céline Galipeau, Anne-Marie Dussault and Sébastien Bovet that it felt like the first day of the campaign to him because so much of the election's first two weeks have been focused on Trump's tariff threats, which were finally unveiled Wednesday. 

The evening was also an opportunity to put Carney's French language skills to the test — which Blanchet had called into question when the Liberal leader turned down an invitation to a second French debate hosted by private Quebec television network TVA early in the campaign. 

On that note, one of the last questions Carney was asked was how he would rate his French during the interview and, if elected, what level he'd aim to attain at the end of a first mandate. 

Carney gave himself six out of 10 on his spoken French and said he'd want to be at an eight or nine in four years. 

"I'm from Alberta. I'm 60 years old. I can still learn," Carney said, adding his comprehension is good and that he loves the language. 

"I am far from perfect but I adore the language … I take part in meetings, I can negotiate in French. All of that," he said. 

Some of the tougher questions Carney had to answer involved Quebec, including why he wouldn't commit to creating legislation to protect supply management of poultry, dairy and eggs — major sectors in the province — and what Quebec represents to him. 

Carney said that since he'd launched his Liberal leadership bid in January, that he'd been unequivocal about his position that supply management should be off the table in renegotiations of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA). 

Pressed on why he wouldn't propose a bill to protect supply management, he said "it's not necessary … the negotiation will start in a few weeks."

The Liberal leader was given some rapid-fire questions about his positions on various topics, some of which he hadn't yet spoken about in the campaign. Would Canada be willing to send troops to Ukraine? "It depends," he said, noting he's ready to join the France and United Kingdom-led "coalition of the willing." 

Carney was also asked what he would tell Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the face of Israel's continued bombardment and renewed ground operation in Gaza.