Long-time TVO journalist Steve Paikin will moderate the English-language Commonwealth Leadership Debate during the next election cycle, the independent committee responsible for organizing these events announced in a media statement on Monday. did.
While TVO broadcaster will be the main host for the debate, the Leaders’ Debate Group has chosen CBC to produce, promote and distribute the English debate.
Radio Canada will do something similar with its French-language debate, moderated by Patrice Roy, one of the station’s main anchors.
The committee said the debate will be “widely distributed and streamed across CBC and Radio-Canada’s television, digital and social media platforms, as well as YouTube.”
Other broadcasters and media organizations can also stream the debate for free on their platforms, the commission said.
A spokesperson for CBC/Radio-Canada would not say whether the country’s other major broadcasters, including CTV, Global and French-language TVA, have agreed to broadcast the debate on their networks or digital platforms. There wasn’t.
“We have nothing to add today. We will share more details about our manufacturing and distribution partners in the future,” the spokesperson said.
CBC News has asked leaders of the major political parties whether they would like to participate in these debates and will update this article accordingly.
The commission, a government agency created in 2018 to organize federal leadership debates, said it chose CBC/Radio-Canada to represent the two contests because the company has “a number of “We have a decade of experience and a long history of producing and broadcasting large-scale national and broadcast programs.” International events from the Olympics to national commemorations and major political moments. ”
a previous report CBC/Radio-Canada “may be the only station with all the necessary in-house skills” to host such an event, according to the commission’s findings on past summit debates.
Both Mr. Paikin and Mr. Roy have hosted leadership debates in the past.
Paikin, TVO current affairs show host agendamoderated three federal debates (2006, 2008, 2011) and five Ontario leadership debates. Roy moderated the 2019 and 2021 Commonwealth debates.
The commission-sanctioned English debate for the 2021 election was widely criticized for its format.
The commission produced an after-action report that concluded it was “too rigorous, too complex, too confusing, had too many journalists on stage, and did not generate enough discussion among leaders.”
The evaluation of this debate was also lower than that of previous leaders’ debates.
To avoid a repeat of that experience, the committee said it needed more control over the format and choice of moderators.
In a statement announcing Monday’s debate, the committee said the debate “facilitates meaningful exchanges between leaders, allows Canadians to learn about policy positions and party platforms, and helps build a sense of the character of their leaders.” “We follow a simple format that helps shed light.”
It also said there would be a “simple, intimate set” with a production design that “keeps the focus on the leaders and the content of the discussion.”
According to the committee, only leaders Paikin and Roy will take part in the debate, with “no other journalists or moderators on stage.”
The commission said it is “requesting that CBC/Radio-Canada select moderators who:embodying the characteristics defined by the committee. ”
Characteristics set by the committee This included “experience moderating a debate” and “a considerable amount of live broadcast experience with a large number of people on stage or set running a panel or program.”
The committee also said it was looking for someone with “dignity and authority” who is “familiar with key campaign issues.” The report called for moderators who could formulate and post questions in a “neutral manner” who “do not express opinions or frame questions against leaders in an arbitrary or partisan manner.”
According to the committee, Mr. Paikin and Mr. Roy were involved in determining the format and worked with the team to develop questions and themes for the debate, while keeping the focus and attention of the debate on the leaders and “rebuttals.” This is largely left up to the leaders.”
