Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will only participate in two out of five election debates, both of which will be chaired by the Leader’s Debates Commission.

Trudeau, the leader of the Liberal party, will participate in an English debate (scheduled for Monday, October 7) and a French debate (scheduled for Thursday, October 10).

According to sources who told La Presse, the Liberals believe “there is not much benefit for us to participate in all these debates.”

Trudeau will not participate in debates hosted by Maclean’s, Munk Debates, and the TVA.

The moderator of the Maclean’s debate, organized cooperatively with City TV, said, “for now, we have no confirmation of the presence of the Liberal leader. We would like to know what he thinks about it. The invitation remains open.”

He further added, “The debate will be held with or without Mr. Trudeau. We believe the debate will be worth it, whether it’s three (Conservative, NDP, Green) or four.”

Meanwhile, Munk Debates wanted to host a debate on foreign policy much like it did in 2015. NDP, Greens, and Conservatives have confirmed their spots while the Liberals have not responded.



Just in: @theJagmeetSingh has accepted our invitation to join the Munk Election Debate on Foreign Policy, joining @AndrewScheer and @ElizabethMay. Now we need @JustinTrudeau to sign on and we will have a debate! Visit our website https://t.co/qPPUYVeXmE to join our call to action pic.twitter.com/9ynHwK6ukS — The Munk Debates (@munkdebate) August 29, 2019

Munk said the debate would be cancelled if Trudeau won’t attend.

The TVA network decided to hold its debate on October 16, five days before the election.

The Liberal source claimed, “it’s too close to the election date,” and hence the Liberals would not be willing to participate.

Conservative Party leader Andrew Scheer called out Justin Trudeau for not attending a majority of the debates

By refusing to attend these debates, Justin Trudeau wants to force their cancellation, and rob Canadians of an opportunity to see him held to account. This is wrong and it shows a lack of leadership. pic.twitter.com/QFNqoj6fhk — Andrew Scheer (@AndrewScheer) August 29, 2019

As the election looms, Conservatives have more or less finalized their candidates, with the PPC coming in second. The Liberals and Greens are almost at par with over 270 candidates, while the NDP is sitting barely above the 170 mark.

