The broadcast consortium that has traditionally sponsored federal election debates— made up of CBC, CTV, Global, Radio-Canada and Télé-Québec — announced the dates of their Stephen Harper-less leaders’ debates on Thursday, excluding Bloc Leader Gilles Duceppe from the English debate and leaving the door open for the prime minister to participate.
At posting time, there was a discrepancy between the consortium’s release on the debate schedule and the CBC’s own reporting. Both say the French debate will be on Wednesday, October 7 from 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., with the consortium saying the English debate will be the following night, between 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. The CBC is reporting that the English debate will be aired from 6:00 to 7:30.
Oct. 7, the night of the first debate, is a week and a half before the October 19 fixed-election date. It is also — inauspiciously in ratings terms — the night of the Montreal Canadiens-Toronto Maple Leafs home opener.
