Justin Trudeau calls Gilles Duceppe 'my love' in French debate, tongue slip goes viral

A comedic slip of the tongue which saw Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau accidentally call Bloc Qubcois Leader Gilles Duceppe "mon amour" stole the imagination of the internet during Friday's French-language leaders' debate and got #monamour trending across the country.

On the other hand, the Bloc Qubcois leader mistakes banker Mark Carney for dead actor Art Carney

Haydn Watters CBC News Posted: Oct 03, 2015 1:00 PM EDT | Last Updated: October 3, 2015

Justin Trudeau calls Gilles Duceppe 'mon amour'

9 years ago

0:18

Liberal leader had meant to say 'my friend,' or 'mon ami' but suffered a slip of the tongue

A comedicslip of the tonguewhich sawLiberal Leader Justin Trudeauaccidently callBloc Qubcois leader Gilles Duceppe"mon amour"stolethe imaginationof the internetduringFriday'sFrench-language leaders' debate.

Trudeau meant to call the Bloc leader"my friend""mon ami"but ended up telling Duceppe that he was his love. The slip-up happened during sparring between the two leaders who weredebating anti-terrorism Bill C-51.

Trudeau immediately caught his mistake, stammeredand laughed it off,but the internet was quick to jump on the error.

It was only a short time before #monamour was trending across the country

Proud to live in a country where our politicians express their love for each other during debates. #OhhhCanada #MonAmour #cdnpoli #elxn42
—@dtfisch

@MacleansMag Trudeau calling Duceppe #MonAmour may very well be the funniest moment in the history of Canadian politics
—@SteveOFarrell3

TRUDEAU CALLED DUCCEPE MY LOVE I AM DONE GOODBYE
—@ShesSoHabs

And Trudeau just declared his love for Duceppe. Now I've seen everything. #faceafaceTVA
—@neldygermain

Initially,Duceppe seemed a little stunned by the slip-up

The unique split-screen format of the debate allowed viewers to see Duceppe'simmediatereaction to Trudeau's words. Many chose to capture the momentthrough the magic of a screen shot and share it widelyon social media.

That look on your face when @JustinTrudeau calls you "mon amour" (my love) #elxn42 #debatdeschefs pic.twitter.com/58QMHDE9Zk
—@iMarcusRM

It prompted some users to dream up a love story between the two leaders

There were jokes, fresh takes on playground songs andeven some hastily made fan art chronicling the exchange.

@realdavesommer If #elxn42 produces one true love story, this might be it.
—@joyandwoe

Justin and Gilles, Sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G #faceafaceTVA #monamour
—@PierreCasto

Autant d'motion... #polcan #elections2015 #MonAmour pic.twitter.com/LpoRyvlwqv
—@StephanP456

At least one user was convinced that Trudeau's 'love' went beyond Duceppe...

Trudeau now called Duceppe 'Monsieur Mulcair' after calling him 'mon amour.' does Trudeau love Mulcair? #monamour
—@rjvandrish

... while others thought the slip-up worked in the Liberal leader's favour

With his #monamour remark @JustinTrudeau has just won the vote of everyone who ever called a teacher "Mom". #elxn42
—@palau93

Great to see Trudeau has such a good sense of humour and can laugh at himself! #monamour #elxn42 #faceafaceTVA
—@ChocolateGuitar

At the debate's end, Trudeau even took to Twitterto squash any rumours

He cheekily referenced the incident,tellinghis wifeSophie Grgoire-Trudeau not to worry and thatshe is his love.

Ne t'inquite pas Sophie... C'est bien toi #MonAmour.
—@JustinTrudeau

It wasn't the only slip-up of the night,withDuceppemistakingcentral banker MarkCarney for dead actor Art Carney

Earlier in the evening, the mix-up roles were reversed.

It wasTrudeauwhocorrectedDuceppe after he kept referring to Mark Carney, the former governor of the bank of Canada,now governor of the Bank of England, as Art Carney, the deceased American actor famous for his role as Ed Norton onThe Honeymooners.

That mess-upalsogot Twitter thinking wishfully.

An independent Quebec WILL have Art Carney as the governor of its central bank.
—@ikenney

Not watching #faceafaceTVA but from what I gather on Twitter, Art Carney is doing well. Can we vote for him?
—@jduncanhansen

For the first time ever, Art Carney gets mentioned in a Canadian leader's debate. #faceafaceTVA
—@jsbroadhurst

One TV host combined the two, summing up allthe debate gaffes in oneTwitter photo

Tonight's debate in one photo. #MonAmour #ArtCarney #elexn42 #faceafaceTVA pic.twitter.com/dxVAMrT60S
—@cspotweet

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