The Leaders’ Debates Commission has published rules for the English- and French-language leaders’ debates to be held during the upcoming federal election campaign.
The commission, a government agency created in 2018 to host federal leaders’ debates, said a leader of a registered political party can only participate if he or she meets at least two of three criteria.
The first requirement is that the leader must be represented in the House of Commons by an MP who has been elected under the party banner on the day the elections are called.
This regulation prohibits party leaders from claiming to be compliant if their sole member or members changed parties during the parliamentary session.
The second criterion is that the leader’s party must have the demonstrated support of at least four percent of the electorate 28 days before voting day.
The commission says voting intentions will be determined using the most recent results from “the major national public opinion polling organizations.”
The third requirement is that the party must have endorsed candidates in at least 90 per cent of Canada’s federal ridings 28 days before the federal election.
To meet this requirement, the party’s chief agent must present a list of candidates who have been endorsed in federal constituencies no later than 28 days before the election.
After reviewing the 2021 census results, Elections Canada announced that the number of seats in the 2025 federal election will increase from 338 to 343.
The Commission says the rules are “simple, clear, objective and measurable”
If at least two of the criteria are met, the commission will invite party leaders to participate in the debate 27 days before election day.
“These criteria balance realized electoral success and potential,” Michel Cormier, executive director of the Leaders’ Debates Commission, said in a statement.
“They measure both electability and viability, and serve the public interest and the voting public by ensuring that the leaders invited to the debate stage represent a current picture of the country’s political forces at play at the time of the next general election,” Cormier added. .
“They are simple, clear, objective and measurable.”
The commission sought and received input from the parties represented in the House before publishing its rules. He also contacted 30 debate organizers in North America, Europe and around the world to compare notes.
In October, the commission announced that unlike the 2021 debate, where journalists were allowed to ask questions of the leaders, the next debate will be restricted to a single moderator and the leaders themselves.
The commission, which chose CBC/Radio-Canada to host the debates, appointed veteran TVO journalist Steve Paikin to host the debate in English and Patrice Roy of Radio-Canada to host the debate in French.
Both Paikin and Roy have hosted leaders’ debates in the past.
Other broadcasters and media organizations can distribute the debate on their platforms for free, the commission said.
