For the first time this election campaign, Canadians are going to have a chance to see four of the main party leaders square off against each other and make their pitches as to why they should be the next person to lead the country. Tonight, Liberal Leader Mark Carney, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, and Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet are facing off in the French-language debate. It is streaming live on CTVNews.ca, the CTV News app, and CTV News’ YouTube page. Green Party Co-Leader Jonathan Pedenault was initially invited to participate, but the Leaders’ Debate Commission rescinded the invitation hours before the first debate. (Andrew will expand on this in his blog entry) After Ontario, the French-speaking province of Quebec has the most seats up for grabs, with 78. According to the latest Nanos Research polling, Carney’s Liberals (45 per cent) are leading La Belle Province, followed by the Bloc (28 per cent) and then the Tories (19 per cent). The French-language debate was supposed to start at 8 p.m. EDT but got moved to an earlier start of 6 p.m. EDT so it does not overlap with the Montreal Canadiens’ do-or-die game to book a playoff spot. Follow along as CTVNews.ca and CTV News journalists provide live updates throughout the debate. 4:21 p.m. EDT: Economy, housing major election concerns in coastal Quebec Percé rock The Percé rock is located about 45 minutes from Gaspe on the Gaspe peninsula. The mayor of Gaspé, Que. says his priority this federal election is the economy, followed by housing and infrastructure. Besides tourism, fisheries and wind turbine manufacturing are two key industries. Mayor Daniel Côté notes how both industries employ approximately 1000 people and rely heavily on selling to the U.S. market. The threat of tariffs is a major concern. “We have big, big, big problems with the U.S. tariff,” Côté says. “So we need the support of federal government.” Read the full story here. Sarah Plowman, CTV News national correspondent 4:10 p.m. EDT: Meet your leaders CTV News has a profile of each party leader who is participating in tonight’s debate. Here are excerpts from those profiles. Mark Carney Liberal Leader Mark Carney shakes the hand of a young Oilers fan as he makes a campaign stop in Hamilton, Ont., on April 10, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick Liberal Leader Mark Carney shakes the hand of a young Oilers fan as he makes a campaign stop in Hamilton, Ont., on April 10, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick Fourteen days after winning his party’s leadership election with a centrist campaign, Liberal Leader Mark Carney is banking on the broader Canadian public viewing him as a viable option for “positive” change. Carney – who has never run in a federal election – is now the leading figure in one for the long-governing party hoping to secure a fourth term. Read full profile here. Pierre Poilievre Pierre Poilievre Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre speaks during a federal election campaign stop in Montreal, Tuesday, April 15, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has been auditioning for the role of prime minister for years. But, after riding high in the polls against Justin Trudeau, he’s heading into this federal election campaign fighting to maintain his advantage. A career politician — and the youngest MP in Parliament at the time of his first election win — Poilievre has been elected and re-elected to his Ottawa-area riding seven consecutive times. Read full profile here. Jagmeet Singh NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh gives remarks NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh gives remarks at a press conference during a campaign stop in Timmins, Ont., Sunday, April 13, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh spent months helping stave off a snap election, but now he’s off to the races, in a campaign triggered by a new Liberal prime minister who is banking on the leadership switch-up being enough to satiate progressive voters looking for change. Now, the lead New Democrat has to navigate slipping support for his party, a nationwide appetite for a strong defender to deal with U.S. President Donald Trump, and selling voters on the need to protect relatively new social supports such as dental and pharmacare. Read full profile here. Yves-François Blanchet Yves-Francois Blanchet Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet arrives for a luncheon with candidates in Sainte-Therese, Que., Wednesday, March 26, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press) Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-François Blanchet is leading his party into this campaign having to perform a delicate balancing act. As the leader of a separatist party in Quebec, he’ll be trying to pick up seats across the province at a time when there’s a country-wide surge in national pride. According to recent polling from Nanos Research, while the Liberals and Conservatives are neck-and-neck nationwide, Quebec could come down to a two-way contest between the Liberals and the Bloc. Read full profile here. Profiles by Rachel Aiello and Spencer Van Dyk 3:32 p.m. EDT: May disputes Leaders’ Debate Commission’s claim Debate removal shows 'a desire by larger parties to keep out the Greens’: May Green Co-Leader Elizabeth May calls the latest decision to exclude Green leaders from the federal debates as ‘a rude awakening.’ Green Party co-leader Elizabeth May is refuting a claim that her party made a “strategic decision” not to nominate candidates in certain ridings. She’s responding to the Leaders’ Debates Commission’s decision to rescind its invitation to Green Party co-leader Jonathan Pedneault to participate in tonight’s debate. The commission’s reasoning is that the Green Party has not fulfilled two of three criteria to participate: having candidates in 90 per cent of ridings, polling at four per cent support 28 days before election day and having at least one sitting MP at dissolution. Read more here. The Canadian Press What you need to know about debate The themes for tonight’s debates are cost of living, energy and climate, trade war, identity and sovereignty, and immigration and foreign affairs. The moderator will be Radio-Canada’s Patrice Roy. Read more here. On the trail: NDP leader ‘under the weather’ ahead of debates, local candidates join picket line NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is not feeling well ahead of tonight’s French-language leaders’ debate. A campaign staffer told reporters he has been “under the weather,” leading his team to lighten his schedule ahead of the high-stakes event. On Wednesday morning, Montreal NDP candidates joined a local picket line to support daycare workers with the Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN) affiliated Fédération de la santé et des services sociaux (FSSS). Singh was not in attendance. Campaign staff told CTV News they’re confident he will be able to rally and perform well at the debate tonight, but have not disclosed specifics about his health. Abigail Bimman, CTV News national correspondent 7:55 a.m. EDT: Green co-leader disinvited to debate Green Party uninvited from leaders' debates The Green Party no longer meets the eligibility criteria to participate. CTV News’ Judy Trinh explains. Hours before Wednesday’s French-language leaders’ debate, organizers announced they had disinvited the Green Party from the event. Green Co-Leader Jonathan Pedneault was set to face off against Liberal Leader Mark Carney, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet. The Leaders’ Debate Commission said Pedneault’s invitation was rescinded because his party failed to meet the participation criteria that had been set out, including having candidates in 90 per cent of ridings. The Greens are running candidates in 232 of Canada’s 343 federal electoral districts. In response, Pedneault called the decision both “unfounded” and “undemocratic.” “Somehow they decided that what matters most here isn’t a fair debate, it’s a debate, the one that they’re trying to create, that protects the status quo, that keeps the powerful comfortable and silences the rest of us,” Pedneault said. Read the full story. Andrew Weichel, CTVNews.ca federal election journalist, with files from The Canadian Press