Green Party Excluded from Debates Amid Hockey Game Rescheduling

The Green Party of Canada has been excluded from the upcoming election debates, just hours before the leaders were scheduled to meet in Montreal. This decision was made amid concerns that their participation would compromise the integrity of the events.

The removal of the Green Party followed a change in the timing of the first televised debate. The debate was moved from its original time on Wednesday evening to avoid a conflict with a highly anticipated Montreal Canadiens ice hockey game.

The independent leaders’ debates commission announced its decision to revoke the Green Party's inclusion in both the French and English debates. The commission determined that the party had "intentionally" reduced the number of candidates running in the election for strategic reasons. The commission stated that including a Green leader would "undermine the integrity of the debates and the interests of the voting public."

run candidates in at least 90% of Canada's ridings, poll above 4%, and have a sitting member of parliament. Despite initially planning to run a full slate, the Green Party ultimately nominated only 232 candidates.

Jonathan Pedneault, a co-leader of the Green Party, accused the commission of attempting to "silence" the party, calling the last-minute change "unjust and baseless."

The decision to exclude the Greens came a day after the debate's timing was altered to avoid a conflict with the Montreal Canadiens-Carolina Hurricanes match. The team was in a crucial game to advance to the national hockey league playoffs.

Both the Bloc Québécois and the New Democratic Party had requested the debate be rescheduled. The NDP argued that failing to change the timing would force people to choose between "political engagement and national pride." The commission later agreed to move the debate to an earlier time, a decision supported by all parties.

The Liberal party is currently polling ahead of the Conservatives. The debates are seen as a crucial opportunity for the Conservatives to regain momentum.