Debates commission looking at changes after ‘perfect storm’ clouded last leaders’ showdown

The head of Canada’s Leaders’ Debates Commission says the independent body should stop organizing post-debate news conferences and will make changes to how it decides what leaders to invite after this spring’s leadership debate was surrounded by controversy.

Michel Cormier, the commission’s executive director, appeared before a committee of MPs on Thursday to highlight recommendations from its recent report on the 2025 federal leadership debates.

The commission organized two leadership debates during the April federal election campaign. While Cormier said the debates themselves ran smoothly, he acknowledged a “perfect storm” of issues that created controversy around the events.

“I admit freely that there were shortcomings — and now our desire is to fix those problems,” Cormier told the committee.

The commission abruptly cancelled a news conference that was scheduled to take place after the English-language debate where leaders were meant to take turns answering questions from reporters.

The cancellation happened after Rebel News and other right-wing media outlets dominated the question-and-answer sessions following the French debate the night before.

Then prior to the English debate, there were a number of tense interactions in the media room, including a shouting match between a Hill Times reporter and a Rebel News personality.

The commission called in extra RCMP security but ultimately cancelled the question and answer period over concerns about the “environment” in the media room.

“We had more than 200 journalists … I think part of what happened in terms of tension in the room was also explained by the fact that everything was centred in one single space,” Cormier told the MPs.

The commission faced questions in the past for accrediting some media outlets. During the 2019 and 2021 elections, Rebel News was part of a legal challenge that ultimately allowed it to obtain accreditation to cover the debates.

The commission decided not to take up another court challenge over accreditation this spring, but Cormier admitted in an interview prior to the English debate that he “wasn’t aware” Rebel News Network Ltd. had registered with Elections Canada as a third-party advocacy group.

Cormier said at the time that had he known, it might have changed his calculations on the accreditation decisions.

On Thursday, Cormier told MPs that the commission would still be responsible for media accreditation for the debates, but it would be up to party leaders to hold their own news scrums if they wish.

There was also a bit of controversy in the lead up to the debates over the initial inclusion of the Green Party, which is pushing the commission to change how it determines which leaders to invite.

Then Green Party co-leader Jonathan Pedneault was dropped from both debates just hours before the first broadcast, after the commission said the party failed to meet participation requirements.

Parties must meet two of the following three criteria in order to be invited: having at least one sitting MP who’s been elected as a member of that party; having at least four per cent national support in opinion polls; and endorsing candidates in at least 90 per cent of all ridings 28 days before the election.

The Greens provided the commission with a list of endorsed candidates early in the campaign, but more than 100 of those failed to finalize their nominations with Elections Canada.

Cormier said the commission will now wait for the list of confirmed candidates from Elections Canada before determining who meets the criteria.

In the lead up to the debates this past spring, Cormier said there was concern that waiting for the Elections Canada list — which was finalized roughly a week before the debates — wouldn’t leave enough time to organize the event.

“After the [spring’s] debates we came to the conclusion that one week was actually enough, even if it makes it a bit tighter,” he said Thursday.

“So we think that the clean and easy solution is to use the Elections Canada list.”

Cormier used his opening statement to highlight some positives.

“When we talk about the success of the debates, in our view, it’s what people saw on TV. In that regard, I think it was a big success, ” he said in French.

The executive director said more people had watched the 2025 debate than in previous election campaigns. He also said the costs incurred for running the debates had been reduced compared to previous elections.

The commission was launched in 2019 to oversee federal leadership debates.