Although there were four present there, it was mostly a showdown between Carney and Poilievre. Mr. Singh was rather annoying and unstatesmanlike with his interruptions. Mr. Blanchet was out of step with a preponderance of Quebec’s interests over Canadians as a whole. If one election cycle could defrock the Bloc…let it be this one.

Mr. Singh did him and his party no favors with this performance. In fact, he didn’t seem to be as intellectually engaged on issues of substance which may have compelled him to sling the occasional unsolicited barb to score points that were beyond his reach.

There is no denying the intelligence of Pierre Poilievre but the trouble with his smarts is that in this age of Trump….the visceral from a leader is far more important. We’ve been down this road before in Canadian elections whereby the Conservatives have all the momentum but then seem to sputter when it counts the most – right before election day. Whether it’s a foot in the mouth or a failure to take a swing at the pitch down the pipe…the Conservatives have a problem closing.

Carney defended and kept composure. It was evidently apparent that he possesses the capacity to listen. Poilievre was effective at communicating his positions around industry, the housing crisis, and crime. Carney coyly reminded Poilievre on the conservative record on gun control. There was much agreement on Ukraine but few specifics on how to deal with the plight of Palestinian people.

Carney couldn’t muster an answer on the question of concealing disclosure of his personal assets which leads one to believe that there may be a real conflict despite him meeting ethics rules. His positions around “clean energy” are fuelling speculation.

The elephant in the room was Donald Trump and the only one on the stage who seriously engineered commentary on Trump’s presence was Carney and he did so directly during closing remarks. Carney told you the truth of Trump’s desire for Canada’s resources, it’s land, and it’s people and he gave you a message of defiance toward Trump’s covetousness of Canada. This message has been complemented by handshakes of both France’s President and the U.K’s Prime Minister. In his closing remark, Carney gave you the chance to believe him or not about his conviction around protecting Canadian’s interests from what has grown quickly from a perceived threat to a real threat.

Home run hitters produce the imagery of a water melon when the pitcher’s fast ball loses the heat in and around the sixth inning and the projectile sits there right in the middle of the strike zone looking to be launched into the bleachers. Pierre Poilievre in all his intelligence right close to an election decided not to go on CBC and emphatically denounce the rhetoric of Donald Trump. He looked at the melon stunned like a deer in the headlights. Then almost as if hiding from him again despite the shadow’s succinctness haunting that Montreal debate stage…Mr. Poilievre with a chance for one last swing with his last at bat took the strike and instead emotionally mused about his rise to leadership from modest means.