A partnership of news organizations that includes CBC/Radio-Canada will produce two debates during the next federal election, according to the Leaders' Debates Commission. The independent commission announced Thursday that the Debate Broadcast Group will be the official producer of the federal leaders' debates — one in each official language. No election call yetThe dates of the debates depend on when the next federal election is called. The Liberal government formed the Leaders' Debates Commission in 2018 to organize officially sanctioned leaders' debates after the 2015 campaign saw leaders, including then-prime minister Stephen Harper and then-opposition leader Tom Mulcair, decide not to appear in traditional contests organized by a consortium of broadcasters. A review of the 2019 federal election leaders' debates argued the Leaders' Debates Commission should be separated more fully from government and that the criteria for participation should be reworked.

Source: CBC News April 01, 2021 15:28 UTC