Candidates for the leadership of the Conservative Party of Canada are participating in a French-language debate Tuesday in Quebec City.

This is the only official debate that will be held exclusively in French, putting to test the 13 candidates for the nomination, some of whom struggle to express themselves in the language.

Québec MPs Maxime Bernier and Steven Blaney can likely count themselves at an advantage, and are both among the leadership hopefuls.  

Candidates may enter the leadership race at any point up until Feb. 24. Business mogul Kevin O'Leary, who does not speak French, is suspected of wanting to wait until after Tuesday's debate to announce his run for the job.

With files from The Canadian Press