The Quebec prime minister has turned down an invitation to take part in an English-language debate ahead of the next provincial election this autumn.
The invitation was sent by an English-language media consortium made up of CBC, CTV, Global and CJAD.
“We declined invitations to two debates, including one in English,” said Ewan Sovs, a spokesman for Francois Lego.
“One has to understand that every debate requires considerable and negligible time to prepare.”
The spokesman also said that Lego would take part in a French debate organized by TVA and Radio-Canada.
On Friday, Parti Québécois also announced that it would not take part in the English debate.
In a tweet, Paul St. Pierre Plamondon, the party’s leader, said “Quebec’s official and common language is French.”
In a statement, Quebec Liberal Party leader Dominic Anglad described Lego’s decision as “deplorable”.
“Francois Lego is turning its back on part of Quebec’s population,” said Angleid.
In 2018, Lego and several other party leaders took part in a televised debate in English before the elections in the same year – the first in the history of Quebec.
This year, the British media consortium also sent invitations to the Liberal Party of Quebec, Québec Solidaire, Parti Québécois and the Conservative Party of Quebec.
All five parties were asked to take part in a 90-minute live debate on September 20 at the Nouvelle Maison Radio-Canada in downtown Montreal.
The next provincial elections are scheduled for October 3rd.
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