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The head of Canada’s Leaders Debates Commission says the independent body should stop holding post-debate news conferences and will make changes to how it decides which leaders to invite after this spring’s leadership debate was surrounded by controversy.
Michel Cormier, the commission’s executive director, appeared before a committee of parliamentarians on Thursday to highlight recommendations from its recent report on the 2025 federal leadership debates.
The commission hosted two leadership debates during the April federal election campaign. While Cormier said the debates went smoothly, he acknowledged a “perfect storm” of issues that created controversy around the events.
“I openly admit that there were deficiencies, and now our desire is to fix those problems,” Cormier told the committee.
The commission abruptly canceled a news conference that was scheduled for after the English debate, where leaders were to take turns answering reporters’ questions.
The cancellation came after Rebel News and other right-wing media outlets dominated the Q&A sessions following the previous night’s French debate.
Then, before the English debate, there were a series of tense interactions in the press room, including a shouting match between a Hill Times reporter and a Rebel News personality.
The commission requested additional security from the RCMP, but ultimately canceled the question-and-answer period over concerns about the “environment” in the press room.
“We had more than 200 journalists… I think part of what happened in terms of tension in the room is also explained by the fact that everything was focused on one space,” Cormier told parliamentarians.
The commission has faced questions in the past for accrediting some media outlets. During the 2019 and 2021 elections, Rebel News was part of a legal challenge that ultimately allowed it to gain accreditation to cover the debates.
The commission decided not to accept another court challenge over the accreditation this spring, but Cormier admitted in an interview before the English debate that he “didn’t know” that Rebel News Network Ltd. had registered with Elections Canada as a third-party advocacy group.
Cormier said at the time that if he had known, his calculations on accreditation decisions might have changed.
On Thursday, Cormier told MPs that the commission would remain responsible for media accreditation for debates, but that it would be up to party leaders to hold their own news meetings if they wished.
Participation requirements
There was also some controversy in the run-up to the debates over the initial inclusion of the Green Party, which is pressuring the commission to change the way it determines which leaders to invite.
Green Party co-leader Jonathan Pedneault was then removed from both debates just hours before the first broadcast, after the commission said the party did not meet participation requirements.
Parties must meet two of the following three criteria to be invited: have at least one sitting MP who has been elected as a member of that party; have at least four percent national support in opinion polls; and endorse candidates in at least 90 percent of all constituencies 28 days before the election.
The Greens provided the commission with a list of endorsed candidates early in the campaign, but more than 100 of them failed to finalize their nominations with Elections Canada.
Cormier said the commission will now wait for Elections Canada’s list of confirmed candidates before determining who meets the criteria.
In the lead-up to last spring’s debates, Cormier said there was concern that waiting for the Elections Canada slate, which was finalized about a week before the debates, wouldn’t leave enough time to organize the event.
“After the [spring’s] “In the discussions we came to the conclusion that one week is enough, even if it is a little more difficult,” he said on Thursday.
“That’s why we think the clear and easy solution is to use the Elections Canada list.”
The debates went smoothly, says Cormier
Cormier used his opening speech to highlight some positives.
“When we talk about the success of the debates, in our opinion, it is what people saw on television. In that sense, I think it was a great success,” he said in French.
The chief executive said more people had watched the 2025 debate than in previous election campaigns. He also said that the costs incurred for holding the debates have been reduced compared to previous elections.
The commission was created in 2019 to oversee debates over federal leadership.
