Conducted in French, Thursday night’s “Face-à-face” debate on Quebec’s TVA network saw the three main national party leaders and Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet tussle over issues including Quebec’s acute labour shortage, two-tier health care, systemic racism, the legacy of residential schools, the environment and the funding for a proposed $10-billion tunnel from Quebec City to its southern suburb. (The Logic)

Talking point: The debate was notably light on issues bearing on the innovation economy, with only a passing reference to Bill C-10, the Liberal’s proposed law that would regulate social media platforms in the country—a popular idea in Quebec, though not in the rest of the country. Justin Trudeau, whom other leaders targeted for calling an early election despite the ongoing pandemic, pinned blame for the rise COVID-19 cases on the unvaccinated. “Almost 80 per cent of Canadians have done their job, have done their part, been vaccinated, and here we are saying that because 20 per cent have chosen not to be vaccinated, we can’t have democracy, we can’t have elections? It’s ridiculous.”