No fewer than 14 candidates crowded the stage in Moncton for the second official debate of the federal Conservative leadership race – an eerie echo of the earliest days of the U.S. Republican primary season
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Stationed behind monogrammed podiums emblazoned with the party logo, the candidates got things started with a rapid-fire series of 30-second opening statements – many of them punctuated with mediocre French.
Early in the proceedings, candidates were asked about improving the criminal justice system before the questions turned to matters of infrastructure and economic growth – in particular the controversial Energy East pipeline project.
Michael Chong called for a strategy that would both reduce greenhouse gases and result in timely energy project approvals by way of a regulatory process that consults indigenous communities and addresses environmental concerns.
Lisa Raitt said Energy East construction should have already begun, and blamed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for the delays. Rival Maxime Bernier said he would institute policies to encourage more private-sector investment.
And Stephen Blaney stopped the show at one point when he brandished what looked like a nuclear fuel assembly while promoting his plan to develop and expand Canada’s nuclear energy industry.
WATCH: Conservative leadership candidate Steven Blaney pulled out a prop while talking about Canadian energy, prompting smiles and laughs from the audience and fellow debaters.
Kevin O’Leary, the celebrity businessman who has been considering a bid but has not yet entered the race, does not speak French and also says he does not think it matters.
He says he speak “jobs.”