A debates preview is in order though the 2019 Canada election cycle has already had a debate. The MacLean's/Citytv debate barely fell within the election cycle. The rest of the debates should prove rather significant.
The newly created Leaders Debates Commission organized debates in English (October 7) and French (October 10). The newly formed Canadian Debate Production Partnership is producing the debates. The partnership consists of CBC News/Radio-Canada; Global News; CTV News; Toronto Star; HuffPost Canada; HuffPost Quebec; La Presse; Le Devoir; and L'Actualité.
The criteria for a party leader to be in the debates requires at least 2 of the following:
- At least one member elected under the party's banner;
- Candidates nominated in at least 90% of the ridings;
- At least 4% of the votes in the previous election or the commissioner determines a legitimate chance to win seats based on public opinion polls.
The Bloc Quebecois made the cut. The People's Party of Canada eventually qualified for the commission debates. The commission ruled that the PPC did meet criteria #3. The party doesn't meet criteria #1.
So now let's get @ElizabethMay into the @TVAreseau debate https://t.co/3guJVkQ6NN #cdnpoli
— Chad Rubel (@canadian_xing) September 16, 2019
The English debate will be split into portions, each to be anchored by a different journalist. All of the journalists in the English debates are women: Rosemary Barton (CBC News); Susan Delacourt (Toronto Star); Dawna Friesen (Global News); Lisa LaFlamme (CTV News); and Althia Raj (HuffPost Canada).
Patrice Roy (Radio-Canada) will moderate the French debate with participation from Hélène Buzzetti (Le Devoir); Patricia Cloutier (Le Soleil); François Cardinal (La Presse); and Alec Castonguay (L'actualité).
Both debates will be at the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Quebec.
Date | Debate | Topic | Participants | Time |
October 2 | TVA | General | L, C, NDP, BQ | 8-10 pm |
October 7 | English | General | L, C, NDP, G, BQ, PPC | 7-9 pm |
October 10 | French | General | L, C, NDP, G, BQ, PPC | 8-10 pm |
@munkdebate @rudyardg think #foreignpolicy is important to debate but willing to easily bail on their passion. We agree @JustinTrudeau should be there but debate should go on. https://t.co/I1QwiyDNRe #cdnpoli #elxn43
— Chad Rubel (@canadian_xing) September 24, 2019
The Munk School of Global Affairs foreign policy debate without Justin Trudeau was scheduled to be on October 1 from 7-8:30 pm. The Munk School of Global Affairs cancelled the debate yesterday and blamed Trudeau.
"Regrettably, the prime minister's refusal to attend our debate has denied Canadians the only real opportunity they had this election to see his foreign policy record challenged in a substantive and sustained fashion," said Rudyard Griffiths, chair of the Munk Debates, in a statement.
The Munks didn't invite Elizabeth May for the 2015 debate.
We've gone on record as saying Trudeau should attend. We do think the Munk Debates blaming the cancellation on Trudeau is a bit ridiculous. A foreign policy debate is a worthwhile practice and should be built into the discussion.
Elizabeth May was invited to the Munk School of Global Affairs foreign policy debate but not the TVA October 2 debate.
We were hoping the debate organisers outside the commission wouldn't be so petty. Candidates choosing not to attend debates is not good but that is their choice. Debates should be inviting party leaders without pretense. The Green Party deserves to be at the TVA debate table. Bernier isn't going to be a part of the TVA debate, but the People's Party so far is only Bernier.
TVA's logic is to invite party leaders "whose parties are represented in Quebec and who have already won seats in the province,” according to a translation. This ignores incumbent MP Pierre Nantel, who switched from the NDP to the Green Party and is running for re-election. Given TVA's conservative roots, perhaps inviting the Green Party doesn't fit in well.
Canada election 2019: MacLean's, Citytv big losers in the first debate
There was the prospect of a leaders debate over climate change. That debate did not materialize. A foreign policy debate could incorporate climate change. The Maclean's/Citytv debate didn't take climate change seriously in its limited focus on energy and the environment.
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The commission debates will be easy to find online and via television. CBC television and CBC News Network will carry both debates and will stream them online. C-SPAN has carried the official debates in previous elections.
The TVA debate will be on TVA. Hoping CPAC — Canadian Public Affairs Channel will pick up the TVA debate with a English translation.
Check our Twitter feed for updates. We will report on the debates on the following Sunday for the weekly election notebook.
photo credit: Canadian Debate Production Partnership
Twitter captures: @canadian_xing
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