Debating debates: 5 things to know before the writ drops

Canada isn’t quite in official election mode, but the topic of leaders’ debates is already at the centre of an exhausting debate.

The Conservative Party said it’s opting out of the typical TV debate format run by the broadcast consortium — a group of Canada’s major TV networks — so this time around things promise to be different.

The consortium, which includes CBC, Radio-Canada, CTV and Global, announced Thursday that there’s a tentative agreement for two televised debates with the leaders of the NDP, Liberal Party, Green Party and Bloc Quebecois (for one debate in French). No word on whether the Conservatives are at all interested.

There’s a lot more up the air though, so here’s what you need to know before the writ drops and the election is, officially, in full swing.

Last chance to see leaders in action

Once the session in Ottawa wraps up on June 23, Parliament probably won’t reconve for several months with some observers predicting it won’t resume until January. That means once MPs will break for the summer, their attention will shift from question period, committees and legislation debates to focusing on getting re-elected in the fall when many expect the federal election race will kick off. So, the debates may be the last chance Canadians have of seeing party leaders in action — and make assessments on where they stand — before before heading to the polls.

Where the parties stand

Months ahead of the anticipated election date, the Conservative Party, in a kind of thumbing of its nose at the broadcast consortium, announced it wouldn’t be taking part in the expected TV debate format — four debates, two in English and two in French, broadcasted by the main networks — that’s been past tradition. The party announced it would only accept up to five offers from individual media outlets.

The NDP’s stance on debates has been fairly straightforward — consortium or no consortium, party spokespeople have said their leader Tom Mulcair will show up wherever Harper shows up to debate the prime minister. The NDP, too, is the only major party (unless you count the Greens as a major party) to commit to participating in a federal leaders’ debate on women’s issues.

The Liberal Party has committed to just the broadcast networks-led debate so far and on Thursday released a statement outlining some of the party’s debate priorities in backing up the consortium. The main issue, the statement read, is that most Canadians need to be able to watch the debates, and the major TV networks are best means for that. The LPS also wants all leaders in the House of Commons, as well as a live studio audience with audience participation, in the debates.

Where will Stephen Harper be?

On Thursday, Conservative campaign spokesperson Kory Teneycke said the party has accepted an offer from Munk Debates to participate in a leaders’ debate focusing on foreign policy, which according to Teneycke via press release, will be made available to all media outlets that might want access to it.

Earlier this week, Teneycke announced CPC leader and prime minister Stephen Harper would participate in an economy-focused debate co-hosted by the Globe and Mail and Google. There isn’t a date confirmed for this one, yet, but it’s set to take place in Calgary and will, according to the Globe, be open to all media as well as livestreamed online.

Those two announcements, including confirmation that the CPC will take part in leaders’ debates hosted by Maclean’s magazine as well as a French-language event with TVA, bring the total debate appearances by the prime minister to four — so far. All of which the NDP has confirmed participation.

What about Elizabeth May?

Before the current debate over debates began, there was a debate around Green Party leader Elizabeth May’s chance of participation. May was blocked from the leaders’ debates last time around, although she had taken part in the 2008 election. She eventually got a thumbs up to being involved in talks with the consortium and then… the bombshell snub from the Conservatives dropped.

May wasn’t invited to the Munk foreign policy debate because the Greens don’t have official party status in the House of Commons (that status requires 12 MPs). This criteria, however, hasn’t been an issue in past consortium-led debates; other parties — Reform, for example — participated when they had fewer MPs in the House than the Greens. May has noted this fact as an argument for her participation, as well as noting that the party will be fielding candidates in every riding across the country.

She’ll spar with the leaders of the NDP, Liberal Party and Bloc, but the non-consortium debates aren’t looking so good for the Green Party leader.

Could the CPC’s move make the debates better?

The Conservative Party’s opt-out from the traditionally organized consortium has reignited a conversation that many have had in the past: questions of how the leaders’ debates can be better run, more interesting and useful for viewers and less about knock-out punches and zingers, as well as questions about creating more formal (and some would say fairer) rules around federal election debates.

There are plenty of ideas floating out there — of holding debates with ministers and critics and focusing on their respective portfolios, of different formats and of a debate on women’s issues, just to name a few examples. When Parliament was studying C-23, the so-called Fair Elections Act, last year May proposed an amendment on the recommendation of Democracy Watch that would have given the Chief Electoral Officer of Elections Canada responsibility over televised election debates, with formal rules about who’d be able to participate. This would take the power away from political parties and large media companies and put it into the hands of an independent third party — an idea that’s appealing to many.