Themes and Formats of Federal Leaders’ Debates Announced

OTTAWA, ON / ACCESSWIRE / September 30, 2019 / The Canadian Debate Production Partnership (CDPP) today announced the themes and formats of the upcoming federal leaders' debates at a press conference in Ottawa.

The Oct. 7 debate in English will cover five topics (in alphabetical order):

Affordability and economic insecurity
Environment and energy
Indigenous issues
Leadership, in Canada and on the world stage
Polarization, human rights and immigration

The format of the English debate includes five segments, each corresponding to one of the five themes. All five segments will include all of the following four elements:

Question from a Canadian
Question from a moderator
Question from one leader to another
Leader-to-leader debate

The Oct. 10 debate in French will cover five topics (in alphabetical order):

Economy and finances
Environment and energy
Foreign policy and immigration
Identity, ethics and governance
Services to citizens

The format of the French debate includes five segments, each corresponding to one of the five themes. All five segments will include all of the following four elements:

Question from a Canadian
Open debate between three of the six leaders
Open debate between remaining three leaders
Questions in quick succession from a journalist

Following the five segments, there will be an open debate between all six leaders.

"These themes of both debates reflect the most urgent concerns of voters across the country and were reflected in the approximately 8900 questions submitted by Canadians for the leaders," said Jennifer McGuire of the CDPP. "The formats of both two-hour debates aim to provide equal speaking time for each of the six leaders and, we believe, will produce vigorous debates that will engage all Canadians."

During the news conference, representatives from the six political parties participating in both debates took part in draws to determine the speaking order and podium position for each leader, among other logistical details, such as arrival time at the venue and post-debate press conference times.

All six federal political party leaders invited by the Leaders' Debates Commission will participate in each two-hour, commercial-free debate: Justin Trudeau (Liberal Party of Canada), Andrew Scheer (Conservative Party of Canada), Jagmeet Singh (New Democratic Party), Yves-François Blanchet (Bloc Québécois), Elizabeth May (Green Party of Canada), Maxime Bernier (People's Party of Canada).

The Oct. 7 English debate will begin at 7 p.m. ET, with moderators Rosemary Barton (CBC News), Susan Delacourt (Toronto Star), Dawna Friesen (Global News), Lisa LaFlamme (CTV News), and Althia Raj (HuffPost Canada). Each moderator will guide one of the five segments of the debate.

The Oct. 10 French debate will begin at 8 p.m. ET. Patrice Roy (Radio-Canada) will moderate, with the participation of Hélène Buzzetti (Le Devoir), Patricia Cloutier (Le Soleil), François Cardinal (La Presse), and Alec Castonguay (L'actualité).

The debates will be held in front of a live audience at the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Que. Apply for free tickets here.

The debates will air live across all platforms of the CDPP members: CBC News, Radio-Canada, Global News, CTV News, Toronto Star and Torstar chain, HuffPost Canada and HuffPost Québec, La Presse, Le Devoir, and L'actualité.

The CDPP will also ensure that each debate is:

Free to stream and broadcast in its entirety with video streams on demand after the debate.
Widely distributed on television, radio, digital, and social streaming platforms to ensure access to a broad cross-section of Canadians across the country, on the platform of their choice.
Available in ASL, LSQ, closed captioning, and Described Video. These debates will be available on CBC Gem and Tou.TV.
Available in English, French, Cantonese, Mandarin, Arabic, Punjabi, and Italian. These debates will be carried on OMNI Television.
Available in at least three Indigenious languages, including Plains Cree, Inuktitut and East Cree. These debates will be carried on CBC Gem and APTN.
Available on third-party platforms such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter through our partner organizations.
Clips from each debate will be available on a CDPP YouTube channel and on the Leaders' Debate Commission website. As well, clips will be created by the CDPP partner organizations.

About the CDPP

In May, the Leaders' Debate Commission issued a request for proposal, seeking bidders to produce the English and French debates. Nine media outlets formed the Canadian Debate Production Partnership (CDPP) and won the contract to produce the two debates.

CDPP partners offer the highest-quality journalism on television, radio, print, and digital platforms. The CDPP is:

CBC News
Radio-Canada
Global News
CTV News
Toronto Star and Torstar chain
HuffPost Canada and HuffPost Québec
La Presse
Le Devoir
L'actualité

Additional distribution partners include:

OMNI Television
APTN
CPAC
Groupe Capitales Médias
Groupe V Médias
Yahoo! Canada
CHCH-TV
TV5
Cable 1

For additional information, please contact:

Leon Mar
Spokesperson, Canadian Debate Production Partnership (CDPP)
+1 647 616-5768
leon.mar@cbc.ca

SOURCE: Canadian Debate Production Partnership

ReleaseID: 561447