The 2019 federal election has officially been called, and with election day fast approaching, all five of the party leaders are set to debate in the second week of October.
Before Canadians cast their ballots in the 43rd federal election, they have the opportunity to hear directly from candidates, and question the country’s potential future Prime Minister.
The official English-language debate is set to take place on October 7, from 7 pm to 9 pm ET., and the official French-language debate is scheduled for October 10, from 8 pm to 10 pm ET.
Both debates will be held at the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Quebec in front of a live audience.
The 2019 official debates are produced by the Canadian Debate Production Partnership, which includes:
- CBC News
- Radio-Canada
- Global News
- CTV News
- Toronto Star and Torstar chain
- HuffPost Canada and HuffPost Québec
- La Presse
- Le Devoir
- L’Actualité
The debates will be also widely distributed on television, radio, digital and social streaming platforms on the networks apart of the partnership to ensure Canadians are well informed prior to exercising their right to vote.
According to the CDP, in order to make them more accessible to Canadians, debates will be available in ASL, LSQ, closed captioning and described video, as well as some Indigenous and non-official languages.
Liberal Party Leader Justin Trudeau, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer, Green Party Leader Elizabeth May, and Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves Francois-Blanchet have all confirmed their participation.
While the federal party leaders have been already been busy travelling across the country, revealing slogans, and releasing ads, the election debates are a chance for voters to get information directly from candidates.
Canadians also have a chance to ask candidates a question during the live debate by submitting a question here.
Election day is October 21.