The leader of Canada’s Leaders’ Debates Commission has proposed ceasing the organization of post-debate news conferences and implementing changes in the selection process for inviting leaders following controversy surrounding this year’s leadership debate. Michel Cormier, the commission’s executive director, presented recommendations from a recent report on the 2025 federal leadership debates to a committee of MPs on Thursday.
During the April federal election campaign, the commission managed two leadership debates. While Cormier noted that the debates themselves were conducted smoothly, he acknowledged that various issues had contributed to controversy surrounding the events. Cormier expressed a willingness to rectify the shortcomings, stating, “I acknowledge that there were deficiencies, and our aim now is to address those issues.”
An intended news conference after the English-language debate was abruptly canceled by the commission, where leaders were slated to respond to queries from reporters in rotation. This decision was made after Rebel News and other right-wing media outlets dominated the Q&A sessions following the French debate the previous night. Tensions escalated in the media room before the English debate, culminating in a heated exchange between a Hill Times reporter and a Rebel News representative. The commission escalated security measures and ultimately called off the Q&A session due to concerns about the “atmosphere” in the media room.
In previous elections, the commission had faced criticism for accrediting certain media outlets, including Rebel News. Despite deciding against pursuing a legal challenge over accreditation this year, Cormier admitted that he was unaware of Rebel News Network Ltd.’s registration with Elections Canada as a third-party advocacy group before the English debate. Cormier indicated that this information might have influenced accreditation decisions had he been aware.
Cormier informed MPs that while the commission will retain responsibility for media accreditation for the debates, party leaders will have the option to conduct their own news scrums if desired. The inclusion of the Green Party in the debates generated some controversy prior to the events, prompting calls for a revision in how leaders are invited.
Ahead of the debates, the Green Party’s co-leader Jonathan Pedneault was excluded from both debates shortly before the first broadcast due to the party’s failure to meet participation requirements. Parties must fulfill two out of three criteria to receive an invitation, including having at least one sitting MP from the party, possessing a minimum of four percent national support in polls, and endorsing candidates in at least 90 percent of ridings 28 days before the election. The Greens provided a list of endorsed candidates early in the campaign, but over 100 candidates did not finalize their nominations with Elections Canada.
Cormier announced that moving forward, the commission will await the confirmed candidate list from Elections Canada before assessing eligibility based on the criteria. He mentioned that concerns regarding the timing of waiting for the Elections Canada list were alleviated after the spring debates, as one week proved sufficient for event organization despite being slightly tighter.
In his opening statement, Cormier emphasized positive aspects of the debates, highlighting increased viewership compared to past election campaigns and reduced costs for conducting the debates. The Leaders’ Debates Commission, established in 2019 to oversee federal leadership debates, aims to address and improve processes following the recent controversies.