Three of the five candidates vying to become the next leader of the Conservative Party of Canada will take part in the race’s final debate Wednesday night in Ottawa.
The bilingual event, with the first half in English, will begin at 6:00 PM ET.
You can watch the debate live on this page when it starts.
Three candidates will answer questions in a roundtable format for about an hour and a half: Jean Charest, the former premier of Quebec and onetime leader of the federal Progressive Conservatives; Conservative MP Scott Aitchison; and former Ontario MPP Roman Baber.
Topics will include Indigenous issues, climate change, accessibility, transportation and health.
The debate, which will be held without a studio audience, comes just over a month after the party will elect its third permanent leader in five years on September 10.
The party confirmed on Wednesday that it had already received approximately 150,000 ballots from an electoral roll of more than 670,000 names. The party’s membership is more than double the size it was when Erin O’Toole was elected to lead the Conservatives in 2020.
Poilievre, Lewis sits debate
MPs Pierre Poilievre and Leslyn Lewis are scheduled to host meet-and-greets with supporters at the same time as Wednesday’s debate in Regina, Sask., and Cornwall, PEI, respectively.
Poilievre’s team has previously signaled that he will not take part in the debate because he believes the first debate in May was an “embarrassment” and instead wants to boost voter support.
Lewis said she had not received information about the format of the debate and that she had told the party she would not be available on the date set for the event.
“Their decision is up to them,” Aitchison said before entering the debate room.
“Party members deserve to be treated with respect. It’s that simple,” Sharest said a moment later.
According to party rules, candidates must attend official party debates or face a $50,000 fine.
The party’s leadership election organizing committee said it decided to hold a third debate after finding that a majority of polled members supported the move.
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