OTTAWA –
The campaign of Pierre Poilievre, considered the favorite in the federal leadership race for the Conservative Party, announced Thursday that he will not participate in the party’s third debate scheduled for August, under threat of a $50,000 fine.
Jenny Byrne, a senior member of Poilievre’s team, released a scathing statement on Twitter explaining the decision after the party announced it would go ahead with the debate in early August.
Conservative party rules state that candidates must take part in formal leadership debates or face an “automatic penalty of $50,000”.
“Participation is mandatory and no substitutions will be allowed,” the rules read.
Byrne’s statement noted that Poilievre participated in the first two official debates in May, plus one organized by the Canadian Strong and Free Network, an organization that promotes the conservative movement.
He also criticized the English-language debate, which took place in Edmonton in May, because it included sound effects and a series of questions about the candidates’ taste in music and television.
“It wasn’t the campaign’s fault that the party’s Edmonton debate was widely regarded as an embarrassment … the candidates were given ping-pong paddles to hold when they wanted to speak. It was more of a show than a debate,” a statement read.
“And this happened despite strong warnings to the party about the moderator and format – all of which were ignored.”
The debate was hosted by former veteran political journalist Tom Clarke, whom Poilievre’s campaign criticized as a “liberal media personality from the Laurentian elite.”
A request for comment from Clark has not yet been returned.
Party spokesman Jaroslav Baran said he understood “there are multiple points of view on the debates held so far” and stressed how the rules of the contest state that attendance is mandatory.
Byrne’s statement said the party’s plan for a third debate comes as Poilievre’s campaign works for a vote among Conservative members.
Party members have until early September to return their ballots before the results are announced in Ottawa on September 10. Voting is now underway, with most of the more than 670,000 ballots mailed to members.
“The sole aim of the campaign now is to get new and existing members to complete their ballots and submit them before the September deadline. Pierre will be on the road again, non-stop, to help make that happen,” Poilievre’s campaign said.
The statement continued to attack fellow leader candidate Jean Charest’s repeated calls for a third debate, saying the former Quebec premier could not draw the same crowd sizes as Poilievre during the phase of the race when candidates were selling memberships to supporters.
“That’s why he wants another debate – to use Pierre’s popularity among members to bring out an audience he can’t get on his own.”
In addition to Charest, candidates Scott Aitchison and Roman Baber have also expressed support for another debate.
Leslyn Lewis’ campaign had said she would attend if needed.
Poilievre’s decision to skip the debate means there will be not one, but two less candidates on stage, given the recent disqualification of Patrick Brown over allegations he may have violated federal election laws.
Brown has denied the allegation.
The party says the decision to host a debate in August came after polling members last week, with a majority of the 24,000 respondents expressing support for another debate.
The decision to go ahead was made on Wednesday evening by the organizing committee of the party’s leadership in the election.
Although officials and campaigns have only weeks to plan the event, campaigns were informed earlier in the race that their candidates could be called for a debate in early August at the party’s discretion.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on July 21, 2022.
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