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Editor’s note: An earlier version of this article said after the debate 57 per cent were in favour of Bannon’s populism while 43 per cent were opposed, which is incorrect. This error was a result of Munk Debates displaying the wrong numbers at the end of the debate.

TORONTO – Ordinary people have long been shut out by political and capitalist elites who have done them immense harm, the former strategist who helped Donald Trump win the White House told a protest-delayed debate in Toronto on Friday.

Denying Trump or his supporters are racist, Steve Bannon called populists the true anti-fascists because, he said, fascism looks to worship the state.

Bannon slammed what he called the “great elites of the permanent political class” for causing the devastating financial crisis in 2008 and waging endless wars like the one in Afghanistan. Those same elites consider the populist movement to be made up of racist, nativist xenophobes, he said.

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“Well, it’s not. They’re the backbone of our country, the most decent people on Earth,” Bannon said during the 90-minute debate.

WATCH: Kamil Karamali reports from downtown Toronto where protesters were yelling “shame on you” to people attending a sold out Munk Debate featuring Steve Bannon and David Frum.

28:24 Large police presence in Toronto as protesters confront attendees of Munk Debate with Steve Bannon Large police presence in Toronto as protesters confront attendees of Munk Debate with Steve Bannon

Bannon’s opponent, conservative commentator David Frum, conceded that liberal democracy was in trouble for many of the reasons Bannon outlined. However, he said, Trump and populism should not be the answer.

“The failures of a good system are no reason to turn to an evil one,” Frum said. “We have to renew and repair.”

Frum accused Bannon and Trump of using code words to incite antipathy toward Jews, blacks and immigrants – something Bannon denied.

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“This is about the little guy versus the elites,” Bannon said. “The little guy identifies with that, whether it’s in Hungary, whether it’s in Italy, whether it’s in Brazil, whether it’s in the United States.”

Police outside the downtown auditorium made several arrests as chanting protesters slowed attendees from getting inside. Video on social media showed officers using batons to hold back the crowd, and one photo showed an officer using pepper spray. Police reported no injuries.

“I think the people of Toronto have shown how they feel about the far right,” said David Langille, who was among those protesting outside. “We want to protect our democracy – it’s very important.”

Bannon, 64, the former executive chairman of right-wing Breitbart News, helped Trump win the 2016 presidential election and was White House chief strategist for eight months until August 2017. Critics have branded him a racist and anti-Semite, epithets he has rejected.

Frum, 58, a senior editor at The Atlantic magazine, was a speechwriter for ex-U.S. president George W. Bush. The Canadian-American is also the author of the recent book “Trumpocracy,” which sharply criticizes the current American president as a threat to democracy itself.

WATCH: Anti-hate groups band together to oppose Bannon debate in Toronto.

2:00 Anti-hate groups band together to oppose Bannon debate in Toronto Anti-hate groups band together to oppose Bannon debate in Toronto

Trump has abused the political process and the media to usurp power and is “slowly corroding” institutions, Frum said.

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“Populism is not popular,” Frum said. “Populism is the art of subdividing the country and excluding much of the nation from the rest of the nation in order to justify the authority of some.”

The debate played out just ahead of the fiercely contested midterm congressional elections in the United States on Nov. 6. Organizers said about 2,700 people paid to attend, while perhaps as many as 10,000 more watched via livestream.

The proposition the two men debated, with Bannon in favour and Frum opposed, was: “The future of Western politics is populist, not liberal.”

In his opening statement – interrupted by a shouting protester – Bannon gave a nod to the demonstrators outside for exercising their free-speech rights, before warning that society was on the verge of a “revolution.”

“It’s not a question of whether populism is on the rise and whether populism is going to be the political future,” Bannon said, prompting derisive laughter. Tweet This

“The only question before us: Is it going to be populist nationalism or populist socialism?”

What Bannon and Trump are promoting is a scam and lie, Frum shot back, adding that populist leaders – including Bannon’s former boss – are “crooks.”

“Does the kind of politics that Steve Bannon is speaking for and President Trump articulates … offer me anything?” Frum, who accused populists of cruelty, said to audience applause. “It offers you nothing. It does not care about you. It does not respect you.”

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The debate began with audience opinion siding with Frum. At the start of the debate, 28 per cent of those in the audience indicated they were in favour of the idea that populism was the way of the future, while 72 per cent were opposed.

However, 57 per cent said they were open to changing their minds, with 43 per cent trenched in their opinion.

The debate was called a draw after an audience poll after the debate still had 72 per cent opposed to populism while 28 per cent were for it.

Some confusion was sparked when the numbers from whether audience members were open to changing their minds was displayed as who sided with populism. Munk Debates has since clarified that the audience was not persuaded by Bannon, but the debate was a draw.

Friday’s event – part of the decade-old Munk Debates – was announced just days after Bannon was dropped from the speakers list at this month’s New Yorker Festival after an intense backlash and threats of a boycott by other guests. Critics in Canada also opposed allowing him to air his views.

Despite the blow-back, the debate chairman and moderator, Rudyard Griffiths, stressed what he called the importance of allowing vigorous discussion of hot topics to allow the public to make up its own mind.

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While the event was sold out, the theatre was barely half full at the scheduled start time. Organizers explained the half-hour delay by saying they wanted to ensure everyone was safe.

Audience members each paid up to $100 to attend the debate, although some resellers were asking several times the value on Friday. Aurea, the charitable foundation behind the event, says it supports public-policy organizations that, among other concepts, advance free markets and the protection of democratic values.

We saw three protestors arrested.

Rally organizer just informed me that 6 people were arrested by police.

And 3 were pepper sprayed.

Have not confirmed these numbers, this is according to the rally organizers. #NoBannoninTO. @globalnewsto pic.twitter.com/yX1KIGBQv6 — Kamil Karamali (@KamilKaramali) November 3, 2018

Steve Bannon vs David Frum Munk Debate was set to begin at 7 pm. Lineup was moving slowly, partly because of protest.

Only now are the last few attendees making it in to Roy Thomson Hall. @globalnewsto pic.twitter.com/cBqRd9S1bd — Kamil Karamali (@KamilKaramali) November 3, 2018

Protestors starting to march towards lineup of attendees going into Roy Thomson Hall. Booing at Munk Debate attendees. @globalnewsto

LINK: https://t.co/BHZALu2FDg pic.twitter.com/Ah5Xnjp9B9 — Kamil Karamali (@KamilKaramali) November 2, 2018

Lots of yelling and heckling at Munk Debate attendees. Police had to intervene. @globalnewsto pic.twitter.com/a15Tn71R4n — Kamil Karamali (@KamilKaramali) November 2, 2018