MONTREAL — James Moore’s campaign to prove he cares about Quebec hit a snag Sunday night after the federal heritage minister couldn’t answer some basic questions about francophone culture on the popular TV talk show Tout le monde en parle (Everyone’s Talking).

Although the 32-year-old minister was quick to name the head of the province’s biggest media empire — Quebecor’s Pierre Karl Péladeau — he didn’t know that Guy Laliberté founded Cirque du Soleil or the name of the internationally acclaimed playwright and filmmaker who recently created a massive, commemorative sound and light show for Quebec’s 400th anniversary. (It was Robert Lepage.)

But perhaps his biggest gaff in front of the roughly 1.5 million Quebecers who watch the weekly show was this: he couldn’t identify the province’s most well-known songwriter and poet of the 20th century, Félix Leclerc. Leclerc is as important to people here as Gordon Lightfoot is to English Canadians. The Félix Awards are given out annually to Quebec recording artists. In 2000, Ottawa put his image on a postage stamp.

Moore, visibly embarrassed by the questions posed by host Guy A. Lepage, also didn’t know it was Atom Egoyan who directed The Sweet Hereafter.

The official languages and heritage minister’s appearance on TMEP was a surprising development in the Conservative government’s efforts to win over Quebec voters. Many well-known politicians have refused to appear on the Radio-Canada show, likely fearing its caustic and politically astute host, who at times acts a bit like a Quebec version of Jon Stewart. Prime Minister Stephen Harper, for example, has refused Lepage’s invitation to be a guest,

Dressed in a blazer and jeans, Moore answered Lepage’s initial questions, in French, with ease. He is in favor of same-sex marriage — an answer which drew a wink and a smile from Lepage’s openly gay sidekick Dany Turcotte. When asked indirectly about Bill C-10, the Conservatives’ controversial censorship bill, Moore replied that he’s not the minister of good taste. ‘It’s not up to me to decide what kind of things we finance,’ he said.

And while Moore drove home his belief that CBC/SRC ‘should tell Canadian stories,’ he was unable to offer any solutions to address the public broadcaster’s anticipated budget shortfall.

Last week, Moore said CBC will no longer receive a guaranteed envelope from CTF, soon to be revamped as the Canada Media Fund. The pubcaster will be forced to compete with rival broadcasters for CMF financing, a move which is largely viewed as an attempt to address the complaints of cable giants Péladeau and Jim Shaw.

The Corp.’s head Hubert Lacroix has said that he may have to close down some stations and buy more American programming to generate some much-needed cash.