Ottawa (CNW) – The Debate Broadcast Group on Sunday unveiled the venue, dates and moderators for the leaders’ debates during the federal election campaign.
The English- and French-language debates will take place at the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Quebec.
The French-language debate will be held on Wednesday, September 8 from 8 to 10 p.m. EDT. It will be moderated by Patrice Roy (Radio-Canada), with the participation of journalists Hélène Buzzetti (Les coops de l’information), Guillaume Bourgault-Côté (L’actualité), Paul Journet (La Presse) and Marie Vastel (Le Devoir).
Journalist Noémi Mercier (Noovo Info) will moderate segments that include questions asked by Canadians directly to the party leaders.
The English debate will be held on Thursday, September 9 from 9 to 11 p.m. EDT. It will be moderated by Shachi Kurl, President of the Angus Reid Institute, with the participation of journalists Rosemary Barton (CBC News), Melissa Ridgen (APTN News), Evan Solomon (CTV News) and Mercedes Stephenson (Global News).
Kurl moderated the 2020 BC Provincial Election Debate and was praised for keeping it on target, on point and on the rails.
The leaders’ debates will focus on the issues that matter most to Canadians, with the topics being announced three days before each debate.
The debates will be made accessible to as many Canadians as possible. In addition to both official languages, the debates will be simultaneously translated into ASL [American Sign Language] and LSQ [langue des signes québécoise], as well as six Indigenous languages: Dene, Inuktitut (Baffin) and Plains Cree for the English debate, and East Cree, Innu and Ojibway for the French debate. OMNI Television will provide live translation for both debates in six languages: Arabic, Cantonese, Italian, Mandarin, Punjabi, and Tagalog.
A growing list of distribution partners will join the Debate Broadcast Group in broadcasting the debates, including OMNI Television and CPAC, with the debates free to be picked up by interested broadcasters and media organizations.
About the Debate Broadcast Group
The Debate Broadcast Group, selected by the Leaders’ Debates Commission to produce the leaders’ debates for the federal general election in English and French, is a partnership of 10 news organizations.
Debate Broadcast Group partners offer the highest-quality journalism on television, radio, print and digital platforms.
