Canada election: Here’s how to watch the federal leaders’ debates – National

The federal party leaders are set to hit the debate stage this week, each preparing to pitch their plan for the country just days ahead of when many Canadians will cast their votes in advanced polls.

Liberal Leader Mark Carney; Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre; NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh; Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet, and Green Party co-leader Jonathan Pedneault will face off in the French-language debate on April 16, with the English debate taking place on April 17.

Each leader qualified for the debates based on meeting two of three criteria set by the federal debates commission, either by holding a seat in the House of Commons when the election was called, having a national polling average of at least four per cent by March 31, or have candidates endorsed in at least 90 per cent of federal ridings 28 days before the election.

Global News will be streaming each debate live on globalnews.ca, the Global News YouTube page and on its OTT platform, which can be found on globaltv.ca and on Amazon Prime Video service.

The French debate will begin at 8 p.m. Eastern, while the English debate takes place at 7 p.m. Eastern.

Each debate will focus on five themes, though there are some differences.

The French-language debate, moderated by Radio-Canada’s Patrice Roy, will tackle the cost of living, energy and climate, the ongoing trade war with the U.S., identity and sovereignty, and immigration and foreign affairs.

TVO’s Steve Paikin, who will host the English-language debate, will question the leaders on affordability and the cost of living, energy and climate, leading in a crisis, public safety and security, and tariffs and threats to Canada.

Both of the debates are being broadcast live from the Maison de Radio-Canada atrium in Montreal.

Each debate will be 120 minutes without commercials, with an “emphasis” on open debate and questions asked by a single moderator.

The independent commission that organizes the debates says in a release that each theme includes a number of questions within to provide “an opportunity for substantive discussion on policy issues and party platforms.”

The commission also notes that the set design has been made to focus on the leaders and content while allowing interventions by the moderator and encouraging interactions between the leaders.

If you can’t watch the debates live, don’t worry — Global News will feature full coverage of the key moments and biggest takeaways of the nights.

You can check back on globalnews.ca for more on what you need to know.

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