Criteria for next election

We have been mandated to set participation criteria for the debates that we are organizing. We are consulting now, and we want your opinion. Provide input to us by email at info@debates-debats.ca by March 12, 2021. Learn more below. 

On November 5, 2020, the Government of Canada amended OIC P.C. 2018-1322 to have the Commission set the participation criteria for the leaders’ debates, as detailed in OIC 2020-871.

As a result, the Commission is engaged in a consultation process with stakeholders to determine the participation criteria. The Commission is writing to invite the leaders of all registered and eligible political parties to provide submissions to the Commission on what the participation criteria should be for a leader to be eligible to participate in the leaders’ debates organized by the Commission during the next federal general election.

As part of its process to set the participation criteria, the Commission will consider, inter alia:

• Consultations undertaken in 2020-21 under the Commission’s updated mandate;
• The Commission’s report to Parliament: Democracy Matters, Debates Count: A report on the 2019 Leaders’ Debates Commission and the future of debates in Canada;
• Consultations previously undertaken either in the lead-up to or aftermath of the 2019 election and debates, including previous submissions received from political parties and other stakeholders that are summarized in the Commission’s report to Parliament;
• The Commission’s previous interpretation of OIC P.C. 2018-1322; 
• Evidence from past election results and public opinion polling;
• The House of Commons Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs report, “The Creation of an Independent Commissioner Responsible for Leaders’ Debates”;
• The Institute of Research on Public Policy’s report, “Creating an Independent Commission for Federal Leaders’ Debates”, which summarizes recommendations made by experts and stakeholders on how best to proceed with a debates commission;
• The Government of Canada’s 2018 online consultation on political party leaders’ debates; and
• The historical application of debate participation criteria in past Canadian elections.  

We invite you to provide a submission for the Commission’s consideration on the setting of participation criteria for the next federal general election.  Please provide your provide input to us by email to info@debates-debats.ca before March 12, 2021.