MONTREAL - Federal NDP leadership hopefuls are showcasing their language skills as they square off in French-language debate in Montreal.
Manitoba MP Niki Ashton, Quebec MP Guy Caron and Ontario MP Charlie Angus and Ontario legislature member Jagmeet Singh are debating in a province where the NDP is looking to regain some of the votes it lost in the last federal election.
Caron is the race's only francophone, while Singh, Ashton and Angus have all demonstrated various levels of proficiency in their second language.
The candidates will be looking to make an impression in Quebec, where support for the NDP fell in the last federal election after helping to vault the party to official Opposition status during the "orange wave" in the 2011 vote.
The NDP currently holds 16 seats in Quebec -- well below the 59 it claimed in its historic breakthrough in the province in 2011 under Jack Layton's leadership.
Members of the NDP will vote for the successor to outgoing leader Thomas Mulcair on Sept. 18.
