Debates Commission Considers Changes After Recent Leaders’ Debate

Michel Cormier, executive director of Canada’s Leaders’ Debates Commission, announced plans to stop organizing post-debate news conferences and to revise criteria for inviting party leaders following controversy during the 2025 federal leadership debates. While the debates ran smoothly, tensions arose, leading to the cancellation of a news conference after right-wing media dominated the question-and-answer sessions. The commission will now rely on Elections Canada’s candidate list for participation criteria and allow party leaders to conduct their own media scrums. Cormier emphasized the debates’ success in viewership despite the surrounding issues.