Canada PM Carney to wrestle with Tory rival, French language in key debate [Video]

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, the frontrunner in this month’s Canadian election, faces two tests in Wednesday’s televised debate: besting his conservative opponent — and showing the bilingual nation that he has good enough French.

Carney’s main rival on the stage in Montreal will be Pierre Poilievre, whose Tory Party is trailing the Carney-led Liberals in most opinion polls ahead of the April 28 vote.

Carney, who took over as prime minister from Justin Trudeau on March 14, has argued his experience as a central banker during periods of economic upheaval make him the ideal choice to confront President Donald Trump.

The US leader has unleashed a trade war on Canada and incensed the northern neighbor with repeated talk of annexation and making it a 51st state.

Poilievre has also promised to stand firm against Trump, but argues that a decade of weak economic performance under the Trudeau-led Liberals left …