What we learned from the candidates at 10 different events.
Do all-candidates debates matter?
It’s a question that drove me dozens of hours and hundreds of kilometres to watch 10 of these events this election campaign.
I’m not sure I came away with a stronger sense of which candidate will take the most ballots come voting day. Debates rarely, if ever, decide election outcomes, and that wasn’t really the point of my showing up.
From Ottawa Centre to Central Frontenac, I wanted to understand how these events serve the voters who turn up to spend their night with a bunch of politicians in a community hall. I also wanted to know what these debates might reveal about our politics today.
Here’s what I learned.
1.
People are thinking a lot about climate change
Questions on the subject came up at every debate. They varied by riding: flooding in the valley, carbon pricing in rural regions, greening public transit in urban Ottawa. But I would call it the defining issue of most debates I attended.
Maybe that came from the Green party candidates who participated in every one, bringing climate considerations into policy discussions that traditionally see little overlap with “green” issues.
Or maybe it’s because public opinion is so polarized on the subject. For every few people pleading for immediate and transformative climate action, there was someone urging calm in the face of the “manufactured” climate crisis.
The candidates were as divided as the audience, though climate change believers far outnumbered its deniers.
The People’s Party candidates would reject the idea of climate emergency, while the Green candidates would emphasize it. The Conservative, Liberal and NDP candidates were spread out somewhere in between.
Whatever the reason, and whatever their ideological position, Ottawans and the candidates running to represent them are thinking and talking a lot about climate change.
2.
Like ’em or hate ’em, fringe candidates bring something to the table
There’s an argument to be made for restricting all-candidates debates to those running for the major parties. The candidates get more time for substantial debate, and voters get more time with those who have got a real shot at representing them on Parliament Hill.
The flip side is that this argument is self-perpetuating and undemocratic. And, I would now note, it ignores one of the ways unorthodox candidates contribute to our politics.
When other Ottawa South candidates reverted to party talking points or skirted around a tough question, Communist party candidate Larry Wasslen was a breath of fresh air.
He was charming, seemed authentic and offered some out-there-but-interesting policy ideas. The same could be said of several independent and fringe party candidates at other debates.
Sure, they won’t come close to winning, and it’s easy to take risks when you’ve got little to lose, but it can’t hurt to include candidates who bring something real to the table and make voters consider where the usual suspects could step up their game.
On a similar note, community debates give a platform to mainstream candidates that a voter might discount from a distance.
In the past, the NDP has barely registered in the Carleton riding election results. But the crowd favourite at a Greely all-candidates debate was New Democrat Kevin Hua, an 18-year-old university student with big ideas and a wicked sense of humour. No one, Hua included, seemed to think he’ll actually defeat heavyweight Pierre Poilievre, the Conservative running for re-election. But constituents seemed to appreciate his fresh perspective.
3.
The only way to lose a debate is to skip it
Community debate audiences are pretty forgiving folks. Even the People’s Party candidates, whose positions on climate and immigration consistently generated heckling and boos at many debates I went to, had moments when the crowd was on their side.
Only twice did I hear talk of true disappointment in a candidate, and potential lost votes. On both occasions, it was because they hadn’t shown up.
Had Conservatives Justina McCaffrey (Kanata–Carleton) or Cheryl Gallant (Renfrew–Nipissing–Pembroke) passed along a message to the debate audience about the reason for their absence, it might have been forgiven.
But it was the lack of explanation and the perception they had better things to do that seemed to leave a sour taste in the mouths of many constituents.
Both candidates showed up at subsequent debates. Maybe that will appease voters. Maybe it won’t. 4.
Sometimes there are moments that feel real and important
Ideology aside, it was hard not to empathize with Ottawa—Vanier Conservative candidate Joel Bernard when he was asked about medically-assisted dying on the debate stage. His sister died a few months ago, he told the crowd, visibly emotional. He went on to make the point that he, too, had watched someone he loved spend a long time suffering, but he still had concerns about further expanding access to assisted death.
It’s the kind of unguarded moment that’s hard to come by when constituents get to know their politicians through a mailer or Facebook Live video. If you’re lucky, you might get something like it on your doorstep.
But it’s impossible to find the time and space for such a conversation in every one-on-one between a candidate and a voter. Debates might be our best shot at getting to know the people behind the names on our ballots.
And speaking of authenticity, the question that never failed to produce perked ears and an audible reaction from the crowd was the ask that candidates name a party policy or promise they disagreed with. As most campaigning involves candidates debating each other’s platforms — and understandably so — there’s still a clear appetite among voters for independent thought. Candidates who can deliver on that leave an impression.
5.
The debates say something about the riding and the people running to represent it
Many of the same questions were asked at different debates in different places. They spoke to what’s on the minds of constituents across Ottawa: climate change, electoral reform, SNC-Lavalin, Phoenix, affordability. But every debate also saw questions that were uniquely local.
In Orléans, candidates were asked how they would bring much-needed federal government jobs to the riding. In Ottawa Centre, redevelopment at LeBreton Flats and Tunney’s Pasture were topics of debate. Ottawa West— Nepean candidates were questioned on their willingness to protect NCC green space. In Kanata—Carleton, candidates were challenged to explain their positions on gun control. Sometimes, these were questions addressed in party platforms. Most of the time, they weren’t. And the answers candidates gave said a lot about the kind of MP they’d be if elected: a strong contender for a cabinet spot, a backbench policy wonk, a constituency champion.
All have value, and MPs of every stripe can serve the country and their constituents in different ways. By showing up to ask these questions and hear their answers, constituents can get a better sense of what kind of person they might elect. tblewett@postmedia.com