Both are wrong in any language

In an officially bilingual country, you would think those who lead us — or who aspire to — would show a modicum of sensitivity to the linguistic preferences of voters. Instead, both Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Conservative leadership aspirant Kevin O’Leary botched it this week.

Trudeau’s “listening tour” took him to Sherbrooke, Que. Asked by an audience member in English about mental health services for Anglophones, Trudeau said, that, “we’re in a French province, so I will answer in French.”

It was rude and lacked awareness of minority concerns in Quebec. Conservative leadership hopeful O’Leary is as bilingual as a box of paper clips. It’s not clear which is more galling: a fluently bilingual leader who won’t answer questioners in their first language, or a unilingual candidate who doesn’t think it’s worth his while to try. Canadians deserve better.