Canadians head to the polls on April 28 to decide who will lead the country.
Ahead of voting day, two debates will be held between the party leaders. The first will be in French on Wednesday at 6 p.m. and the second in English on Thursday at 7 p.m.
Both debates will take place at the Maison de Radio-Canada in Montreal.
CBC/Radio-Canada has been selected as the debate producer by the Leaders' Debates Commission (LDC), an independent public body that organizes two debates during each federal general election campaign.
The French-language debate was rescheduled from its original 8 p.m. slot to reduce its overlap with the Montreal Canadiens playoff game happening the same night.
Who’s attending?
The leaders of four main political parties have been invited and are expected to attend both debates.
This includes Liberal Party Leader and current Prime Minister Mark Carney, Conservative Party and Official Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre, Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet and New Democratic Party Leader Jagmeet Singh.
The Green Party and its co-Leader Jonathan Pedneault were on Wednesday uninvited from the debate and will no longer be in attendance.
The LDC said the Green Party "intentionally reduced the number of candidates running in the election for strategic reasons" and thereby can no longer be included.
“Whether or not the Green Party of Canada intended to run 343 candidates, it has since made the strategic decision to reduce the number of candidates running, meaning that voters no longer have the opportunity to vote for those candidates,” the statement reads.
The LDC's rule book dictates that political parties must meet two of three criteria to participate in the debates. These include: endorsing candidates in 90 per cent of Canada’s 343 ridings, totalling at least 309 candidates; having a Member of Parliament under their banner in the House of Commons when the election is called; and/or holding at least four per cent of national support in the polls 28 days before the general election.
Where to watch?
Several organizations will broadcast the debates alongside the CBC.
National media outlets such as CTV, Global News, CityNews, CPAC and APTN will air the debates, according to a news release.
Regional broadcasters TVO, TFO and CHCH in Ontario will show them as well.
The debates will also be livestreamed on CBC’s YouTube channel.
Journalist Patrice Roy will moderate the French-language debate while TVO host Steve Paikin will moderate the English-language debate.
What’s the format?
Each debate will be two hours long without commercial breaks.
The format aims to emphasize open debate, according to the CBC.
In an attempt to produce the most informative and effective debates for voters, the LDC said it has established a “simple and flexible format that encourages meaningful exchanges between the leaders."
The French-language debate will feature five main editorial theme: the cost of living, energy and climate, identity and sovereignty, immigration and foreign affairs, and the trade war with the United States.
The main themes for the English debate will be affordability and the cost of living, energy and climate, leading in a crisis, public safety and security, and tariffs and threats to Canada.