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Summary

An 11-Year-Old Named Charles Stole The Show With His Question At The Leaders' Debate

The kid is concerned about climate change in Canada.

Senior Writer

If you didn't catch the French language federal leaders' debate on September 8, one of the night's best moments came not from a party leader but from a kid who's only 11 years old.

During the part of the debate about climate, 11-year-old Charles Leduc from Saint-Clet, Quebec, got to ask a question to Justin Trudeau, Jagmeet Singh, Erin O'Toole, Annamie Paul and Yves-François Blanchet.

Charles asked the leaders what they plan to do to reduce the use of fossil fuels in Canada. He also mentioned that he's not just concerned about his future but his children's futures as well.

The 11-year-old got quite a few mentions on Twitter after he asked his question. Someone even called him the Greta Thunberg of the leaders' debate.

Since all of the party leaders got the opportunity to respond to Charles' climate question, one person tweeted that he would be 15 years old by the time they all finished answering.

A national association for children's healthcare said it was great to see Charles representing young people in the debate and that "federal leaders need to show Canada's kids and youth that their voices matter too."

Another person gave a shoutout to Charles for wearing a "cool" shirt and being concerned about climate change.

There have been two French-language debates so far. The first English language federal leaders' debate is from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET on September 9.

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    • Senior Writer

      Lisa Belmonte (she/her) is a Senior Writer with Narcity Media. After graduating with a Bachelor of Journalism from Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University), she joined the Narcity team. Lisa covers news and notices from across the country from a Canada-wide perspective. Her early coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic earned Narcity its first-ever national journalism award nomination.

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