National Televised Leaders Debate Cancellation is an Affront to Democracy.

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News Release - Green Party of Canada.

 GRANDVIEW October 2, 2015 – Despite efforts by the Greens and the major national English language television broadcasters, the NDP have withdrawn from the national leaders' debate and today the debate has been cancelled.

“Cancellation of the National leader’s debate is a huge blow to democracy and to Canadian voters." said Kate Storey, local Green Party candidate for Dauphin Swan River Neepawa (above). 


“We were not surprised when Harper refused to participate in democracy, but we expected Mulcair to honour his commitment.  Millions of voters across the country, from British Columbia to Newfoundland, to Nunavut have been denied the opportunity to see and compare all the party leaders in action.”

“For decades, the National Televised English Language Debate was the pivotal event in election campaigns. In the 2011 election, it was watched by over 11 million Canadians, young and old. Over the past several weeks, the Green Party has been negotiating with all party officials to have an English debate. Unfortunately, these efforts were not successful.  A series of minor debates have occurred but these have not included all leaders and have been seen by only 10 % of viewers.

“National Televised debates are the leader’s chance to connect with voters across the country”, said Storey. “Apparently Harper and Mulcair would rather hide from voters than engage them.”
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Debate Facts:
  • 11 million watched the National Televised English Language Debate in 2011 (Source: Global News)
  • 4 million watched the National Televised French Language Debate in 2011
  • The 2015 Maclean's Debate drew an average audience of 1.5 million (Source: Maclean’s)
  • The Globe and Mail Debate drew an audience of 400,000 (Source: Global News)
  • Numbers were not available for the 2015 Munk Debate
*Numbers are approximate
For additional information or to arrange an interview, contact:

Kate Storey, Green Party candidate for Dauphin Swan River Neepawa
204-546-2099


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