TVO's Steve Paikin will host federal leaders' English-language election debate

Steve Paikin to Host Upcoming Federal Leaders' Debate

Longtime TVO journalist Steve Paikin has been appointed to host the English-language federal leaders' debate for the next election campaign, according to a media statement released Monday by the independent commission overseeing these events.

While Paikin will serve as the host, the Leaders' Debates Commission has selected CBC to produce, promote, and distribute the English debate. Radio-Canada will handle the same responsibilities for the French-language debate, which will be moderated by one of its main anchors, Patrice Roy.

The commission stated that the debates will be "widely distributed and streamed across the CBC's and Radio-Canada's television, digital, and social media platforms, as well as on YouTube." Additionally, other broadcasters and media organizations will be able to distribute the debate on their platforms for free.

A spokesperson for CBC/Radio-Canada did not clarify whether major broadcasters such as CTV, Global, and French-language TVA would broadcast the debate on their networks and digital platforms. "There's nothing more to add today. We'll share details about the production and distribution partners further down the road," the spokesperson said.

CBC News has reached out to the leaders of major political parties to confirm their participation in the debates and will provide updates as information becomes available.

The commission, established in 2018 to organize federal leaders' debates, chose CBC/Radio-Canada to manage these contests due to its "decades of experience and a long history of producing and broadcasting large-scale national and international events, from the Olympic Games to national commemorations to major political moments." A previous report indicated that CBC/Radio-Canada "may be the only broadcaster to have all the necessary in-house skills" to execute such an event.

Both Paikin and Roy have prior experience hosting leaders' debates. Paikin, the host of TVO's current affairs program The Agenda, has moderated three federal debates (in 2006, 2008, and 2011) as well as five Ontario provincial leaders' debates. Roy moderated the federal debates in 2019 and 2021.

The commission-sanctioned English-language debate during the 2021 election faced widespread criticism regarding its format. A postmortem report concluded that the debate was "too rigid, too complex, too confusing, involved too many journalists on stage, and did not sufficiently generate debate between the leaders." Additionally, the ratings for that debate were poor in comparison to previous leaders' debates.

To prevent a repeat of that experience, the commission announced that it would assert more control over the format and the selection of the moderator. The commission stated that the upcoming debates will follow "a simple format that encourages meaningful exchanges between the leaders, helps Canadians learn about their policy positions and party platforms, and sheds light on the leaders' character."

Furthermore, the debates will feature a "simple and intimate set" designed to "keep the focus on the leaders and on the content of the debate." Only the leaders, Paikin, and Roy will participate in the debate, with no other journalists or hosts on stage, the commission clarified.

The commission also mandated CBC/Radio-Canada to choose moderators who "embodied the characteristics defined by the commission." These characteristics included "experience moderating debates" and "substantial hours of live television experience running panels or programs with many people on stage or set."

Additionally, the commission sought moderators with "gravitas and authority" who are "knowledgeable about the major issues of the election campaign," and who can formulate and pose questions "in a neutral way" without expressing an opinion or framing questions in a partisan manner.

Paikin and Roy will collaborate on the format and work with a team to develop the debate's questions and themes, ensuring that the focus remains on the leaders and leaving "rebuttals largely to them," according to the commission.