The French-language federal leaders debate has been rescheduled two hours earlier on Wednesday, after calls by the Bloc Quebecois and NDP to change the time so it doesn’t conflict with a critical Montreal Canadiens game.
The Canadiens are set for a puck drop against the Carolina Hurricanes at 7 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday, with a spot in the NHL playoffs on the line.
CBC/Radio-Canada, which was selected by the independent Leaders’ Debates Commission to produce the debates, confirmed to Global News that the French-language debate will now take place at 6 p.m. Eastern, and is set to conclude at 8 p.m. Eastern.
On Tuesday, Bloc Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet suggested he’d like to see the day of the debate changed so Canadians won’t have to choose between watching the debate and watching the game.
“If the date can be changed, let’s do that,” he said at a press conference. “I will, of course, make myself available at any moment. We’ll look into that.”
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh on Tuesday called on the debates commission to reconsider the timing, saying the game is the Canadiens’ “third and final chance to clinch a playoff spot.”
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Blanchet later commended the decision for the time change.
“We are pleased that the debate time has been moved up in order to maximize viewership of what will be the only debate in French,” Blanchet wrote in a statement. “It is of particular importance for Quebec democracy, and we hope that as many Quebecers as possible will be able to follow it.”
The NDP’s Quebec campaign director, Jonathan Gauvin, also praised the move.
“This is the right decision and we encourage people to listen to this important debate for the future of our country,” Gauvin wrote.
Liberal Leader Mark Carney was also asked about the Canadiens’ game and said he plans to focus on addressing those who do watch the debate.
“I’m going to concentrate on neither attack nor defence,” he said. “But I will focus on transparency to inform those Canadians who choose to watch the debate instead of the Habs game and we’ll leave it to the Habs to decide the right combination of attack and defence over the course of le Grand Match.”
The Green Party said: “Though Canadians love a good hockey game, we think they will prioritize the debate. There’s too much at stake in this election. Jonathan Pedneault looks forward to debating tomorrow evening … .and checking by how goals the Habs beat Carolina after the debate is done.”
Global News reached out to the Conservative Party for their views, but did not hear back by publication.
It’s not the first time a federal leaders debate has been rescheduled, coincidentally once again for a Canadiens game.
In 2011, a Montreal Canadiens game postponed the French-language debate during that election campaign after the Bloc made a request to the network consortium that runs the debates.
At the time, the consortium agreed saying all parties had agreed to postpone the face off in favour of the opening game of the playoff series between the Canadiens and Boston Bruins.
When told about that, Blanchet said he was not aware of the demand by then-leader Gilles Duceppe.
“I would like anybody else to watch the game,” he said. “But now I believe that some questions are very serious about Canada’s future and Quebec’s future and maybe some attention should be given to the debate.”
—with files from Reuters
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