A recent debate for the Mississauga-Erin Mills riding had almost everything; tough questions, detailed policy explanations, heated exchanges from candidates and a near capacity hall.

But it was missing Conservative candidate Hani Tawfilis, who was at the Erin Mills Pump and Patio with party supporters watching the Toronto Maple Leafs defeat the Ottawa Senators.

The Oct. 2 second debate, which was held at University of Mississauga (UTM), had candidates from every party running in Mississauga-Erin Mills except for the Conservatives. A UTM campus Conservative group organized the event at the Erin Mills Pump, which was described as a meet and greet of the party's Mississauga candidates, including Tawfilis, Ghada Melek and Wladyslaw Lizon.

When asked at the Mississauga bar and restaurant why he was not at the debate, Tawfilis said "tonight is a night out with the people" and that he and the event attendees were there to "clear our minds completely."

Tawfilis's campaign manager, Peter Pavlovic was asked whether he knew about the debate at UTM, and responded "what debate? What are you talking about?"

"You know what, I'm here to talk about hockey," Pavlovic said. "What are you talking about, does this have anything to do with hockey?"

The Political Science and Pre-Law Association at UTM organized the Oct. 2 debate, and group president Graeme Littlemore said in an email that all candidates and their teams in Mississauga-Erin Mills were invited to participate. Tawfilis's campaign acknowledged the invitation to the debate, he said, but declined to appear.

Michael Lo Giudice, Tawfilis's assistant campaign manager, said in an email after the event that the campaign team was aware of the debate at UTM. But with "time restraints and limited resources, at times campaigns have to make choices that maximize utility for the campaign," he said.

After the debate, Liberal, NDP and Green candidates for Mississauga-Erin Mills expressed their disappointment in Tawfilis not attending the event at UTM.

“The (Conservative) candidate not attending this debate was a clear signal to hundreds of students and residents that came to learn about the platform for each party," said Liberal candidate Iqra Khalid in an email.