Current and former Liberal party officials, both French and English speakers, say the next Liberal leader to replace 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 that he would not seek re-election in his Nova Scotia riding.
“If a leader does not have the ability to understand the reality for the linguistic minorities and also for the population of Quebec, it is not possible to be a good prime minister or a good leader of the Liberal party,” said Fraser, taking French courses to improve his French.
Although Manitoba MP Kevin Lamoureux said he did not believe monolingual candidates should be systematically disqualified from the race, he insisted he would not vote for a monolingual candidate and would be “very upset” if his party “elected someone.” Not bilingual.”
On Thursday, the Liberal Party said a new leader would be announced on March 9, giving potential candidates just two weeks to decide whether to take the role. With a federal election on the horizon following Trudeau’s decision to step down as party leader, the new party boss will face Conservative Leader Pierre Poilivre and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh — both of whom are fluent in French.
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Former Montreal MP Frank Bayliss and Nepean, Ont., MP Chandra Arya have officially confirmed they plan to run, while former BC premier Christy Clark and former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney are among those considering bids.
Arya downplays the fact that he doesn’t speak French, reiterating the bilingual imperative. In an interview with CBC/Radio-Canada, Arya said language proficiency is a secondary issue for Quebecers, who, in his opinion, are more interested in being able to “deliver” a person.
However, some elected officials in Quebec responded that the next leader should master Canada’s two official languages.
A leader “must be completely bilingual. This is a question of honor and values. It is also essential to increase our chances of winning the next election,” wrote Jean-Yves Duclos, the Quebec lieutenant of the Liberals, on X.
On the same social media platform, Gatineau MP Steven MacKinnon, who is considering a bid to succeed Trudeau, said it was “critical” that the Liberal leader is bilingual.
“Bilingualism means appreciating the fact of French in Canada, appreciating all of Quebec and all communities in the country, whether French-speaking or English-speaking,” said MacKinnon, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour.
Former Liberal strategists also shared similar views.
Sandra Aube, former chief of staff to Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Jolie, said in an interview that French proficiency was “indispensable,” “non-negotiable” and part of “the very DNA of the party.”
“If there is a leader who speaks little or no French in the coming election campaign, he or she will be guaranteed to face big challenges, at least in Quebec. And therefore, it will affect the outcome of the Liberals overall,” said Aube, who Now works for TACT, which provides government and public relations services.
Announcing Friday that she would not throw her hat in the ring, Jolie added that, “as a Quebecer and a francophone,” she felt it was “obvious” that the next leader should speak both French and English.
Ex-Liberal strategist Greg McEachern, now president of the lobbying firm KAN Strategies, agreed: “Whoever the leader is, he has to be ambivalent, period.”
Traditionally, Liberal leaders alternated between Quebec and the rest of Canada, McEachern added.
“I think the main point is that the province of Quebec is really important right now for the Liberal Party, for the Liberal Party’s chances,” he said.
For Francois Rocher, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Ottawa, Arya’s contention that Francophones are primarily seeking effective, accountable government is “misleading and asymmetric.”
“Imagine a linguistic francophone candidate raising the same argument,” he said.
The candidate would be “immediately ridiculed in the rest of Canada, with even monolingual English candidates not understanding why … we wouldn’t be able to reach 75 percent of the Canadian population.”
© 2025 The Canadian Press
