OTTAWA-
The Conservative Party of Canada has decided to hold a third debate in the race to become its next leader.
Members of the leadership election organizing committee met on Wednesday and decided to hold another one following a survey the party sent out to members last week to which 24,000 responded, according to a party spokesperson.
“The response was overwhelmingly in favor of a third debate,” said Yaroslav Baran.
The event will take place next month, with more details on the schedule expected later Thursday.
According to party rules, leadership contestants are required to attend official debates or face a fine.
The candidates have already participated in two official debates, one in English in Edmonton and a second in French in Laval, Quebec.
The campaigns had, however, been informed that their candidates could be recalled by the party to participate in a third in early August.
It will be held with the vote already in progress and the completed ballots. The event will also go ahead without Patrick Brown, who was disqualified from the race this month for an allegation he violated federal election law, which he denies.
The results of the race will be announced on September 10 in Ottawa.
Former Quebec premier Jean Charest had urged the party to hold a third debate, and fellow candidates Scott Aitchison and Roman Baberhad had also expressed support.
Leslyn Lewis’ campaign has said it will attend if needed, and a spokesperson for Pierre Poilievre, the front-runner in the race, has yet to respond as to his feelings about a third debate.
Poilievre recently skipped an unofficial, non-party-organized debate while candidates were in Alberta for the Calgary Stampede.
He has been in Toronto lately, announcing on Thursday that a federal government led by him will approve the expansion of the runway at the city’s Billy Bishop Airport, opening the door to jets flying to and from downtown. .
The move, Poilievre said in a statement, would increase competition in the air and provide another option for passengers using Toronto’s Pearson International Airport.
The main airport has recently been battling flight delays and cancellations as airlines adjust to higher passenger levels following quiet periods of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on July 21, 2022
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