The Leaders’ Debates Commission has released rules for the English- and French-language leaders’ debates that are to be held during the next federal election campaign.
The commission — a government agency created in 2018 to organize federal leaders’ debates — said that a leader of a registered political party can only participate if they meet at least two of three criteria.
The first requirement is that the leader has to be represented in the House of Commons by an MP who was elected under the party banner on the day the election is called.
That regulation prohibits party leaders from claiming they comply with the rules if their only member or members switched parties during the parliamentary sitting.
The second criteria is that the leader’s party must have the demonstrated support of at least four per cent of the electorate 28 days before voting day.
The commission says voting intention will be determined using the most recent results of “leading national public opinion polling organizations.”
The third requirement is that the party must have endorsed candidates in at least 90 per cent of federal ridings across Canada 28 days before the federal election.
To meet this requirement, the party’s chief agent needs to submit a list of candidates that have been endorsed in federal ridings no later than 28 days out from the election.
After reviewing the results of the 2021 census, Elections Canada announced that the number of seats in the 2025 federal election is increasing from 338 to 343.
Commission says rules are ‘simple, clear, objective and measurable’
Providing at least two of the criteria are met, the commission will issue invitations to the party leaders to participate in the debate 27 days before election day.
“These criteria balance realized and potential for electoral success,” Michel Cormier, executive director of the Leaders’ Debates Commission, said in a statement.
“They measure both electability and viability, and they serve the public interest and the voting public by ensuring the leaders invited on 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 prior to releasing its rules. It also reached out to 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 the leaders questions, the next debate will be restricted to a single moderator and the leaders themselves.
The commission, which picked CBC/Radio-Canada to put on the debates, has named longtime TVO journalist Steve Paikin to host the English-language debate and Radio-Canada’s Patrice Roy to host the French-language debate.
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.
