French-Language Debate: Trudeau Shows Up, Scheer Put in Hot Seat, Blanchet Defends Bill 21

(L-R) Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet, Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer, TVA host Pierre Bruneau, Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau, and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh pose for a photo at the TVA French debate for the 2019 federal election in Montreal on Oct. 2, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Joel Lemay

OTTAWA—It was the first time Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau faced his rivals directly in this federal election campaign, but Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer spent some time in the hot seat during the first French-language debate.

Hosted by the private TVA television network and newspaper Le Journal de Montreal, the debate pushed Scheer right into uncomfortable territory with its first question, about abortion.