“I worked —”

En français, s’il vous plaît.

“Oh Jesus,” New Democratic Party leader hopeful Rob Ashton said.

That was just one of several moments in the federal NDP leadership race debate, hosted in Montreal Thursday evening, entailing much prepared script reading, broken sentences and reverting to English.

The five left-wing candidates came to the city to press their case in one of Canada’s progressive heartlands. Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberals had battered the party under Jagmeet Singh in last spring’s election, leaving them to secure just one seat in Quebec: Alexandre Boulerice’s in Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie . That seat was one of seven for the party across the country. And this debate reportedly carried weight for Boulerice as he considers whom to support.

The debate was int

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