QUEBEC CITY -- For the second week in a row, Conservative Party leadership candidates are facing questions about their collective second-language abilities.
Last week, it was an all-French debate in the Quebec capital that had observers ranking which candidates were the best -- and worst -- bilingual communicators. This week, it's the party's Quebec City caucus meeting that's focused attention on whether the next leader will be able to communicate in the 100 ridings that feature francophone populations.
That's just under a third of the country's 338 ridings.
"It's easy to pull some clips of some mistakes with grammar and some of the candidates who struggle a little bit more. But by and large, when you look at the analysis here in Quebec, scores were very good for many candidates," said Andrew Scheer, a Saskatchewan MP and leadership contestant, noting analysts in Quebec scored him seven out of 10.
"Regardless the level of proficiency, every single one of those candidates were here in Quebec City trying to articulate [their vision]. Everyone except one," he said, in reference to celebrity investor Kevin O'Leary, who delayed entering the race until the day after the French-only debate.
O'Leary has no political experience and has already provided his opponents with fodder to use against him, including when he suggested he didn't need to speak French because he speaks "the language of jobs." He has since backtracked and says he is learning the language.
Erin O'Toole, an Ontario MP running for the party's leadership, said members want to see constant improvement from those who are still working on their French.
"Everyone in the debate just last week showcased their abilities in the language, or a lot of people [showcased] their commitment to improve it," he said. "It's a clear commitment, the fact our party is here."
Given the trouble many of the candidates had in the French-only debate, however, emphasizing their commitment to improve it may be an optimistic interpretation.
"Some people don't have much base in it and that makes it very, very difficult," O'Toole allowed. "People like me that have spoken it at times in our life, that are committed to always getting better, I think that's what people want to see."
The subject isn't simply an issue raised by Parliamentary reporters, who see politicians working in both official languages every day. In Quebec, the question journalists are asking is whether the next leader should be bilingual on May 27, the day he or she is chosen, or whether they have until the 2019 election to be fluent. The candidates' answers vary.
"My goal for the leadership convention is to be able to do a scrum in French," said Ontario MP and leadership candidate Lisa Raitt, who takes lessons daily.
"I will get there. But whether or not I'm going to be perfectly bilingual on May 27, I know that's not the case. Because it is a beautiful and tough language that needs to be practiced and it needs to be perfected, but I will be there by 2019."
It's notable that all 14 contestants, no matter how weak their French, agree the next leader has to speak the language.
"It hasn't been a controversy in our caucus. We're all committed to it," O'Toole said.
For Scheer, electoral math makes it a clear choice.
"We don't want to go into the 2019 election writing off a whole swath of the country," he said.
