Canada’s 2025 federal election campaign is heating up fast — and with voting day set for April 28, many Canadians are still figuring out where they stand.
If you’re unsure who deserves your vote, the upcoming leaders’ debates might provide some help. Two national debates are scheduled this month — one in French and one in English — and they’ll give voters across Quebec and Canada a chance to see the current Prime Minister Mark Carney and other major party leaders face off on key issues.
The French-language debate will take place on Wednesday, April 16 at 8 p.m., live from La Maison de Radio-Canada in Montreal. It will be moderated by journalist Patrice Roy and broadcast across multiple platforms, including:
- ICI Télé
- ICI RDI
- ICI Première
- ICI TOU.TV
- YouTube
- The Radio-Canada website
- The OHdio app
The English-language debate is set for the following night, Thursday, April 17 at 7 p.m., also from La Maison de Radio-Canada. It will be moderated by Steve Paikin, host of The Agenda on TVO.
You’ll be able to catch the English debate on:
- CBC Television
- CBC News Network
- CBCNews.ca
- CBC Gem
- YouTube
- CBC Radio One
- The CBC Listen app
This year’s participating leaders include:
- Mark Carney – Liberal Party of Canada
- Pierre Poilievre – Conservative Party of Canada
- Yves-François Blanchet – Bloc Québécois
- Jagmeet Singh – New Democratic Party
- Jonathan Pedneault – Green Party of Canada
Of the five, only Blanchet and Singh have prior experience in televised debates during a general election — something that may play to their advantage.
According to the Leaders’ Debates Commission, the debates will also be available on other channels and translated into various Indigenous languages, as well as in American Sign Language (ASL), Quebec Sign Language (LSQ), and with captioning and video description options.
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