“Last leadership, tens of thousands of Canadians took in our debates, and gave our candidates an important platform to differentiate their visions for the party, and for the country,” said Dan Nowlan. “The debates are designed to provide ample opportunity for our four candidates to present their ideas, and answer questions directly from members and Canadians.”

The debates will exclusively feature questions from the public, and Canadians are asked to submit their video recorded questions at our Conservative Leadership website www.cpc-leadership2020.ca by June 10th. The debates will also feature a head-to-head portion where candidates will debate each other one-on-one.

“These debates will allow our candidates to have a robust exchange of ideas and policy, while giving members a chance to better inform their choice among the candidates,” said Lisa Raitt. “While traditionally we’d like to have these debates in different parts of the country, the ongoing uncertainty around COVID-19 makes this the most sensible way to hold these debates.”

Due to COVID-19 health guidelines and government orders, the debates will take place without an in-person audience. Additional measures will be taken to ensure social distancing is respected among candidates and technical personnel – this includes keeping candidates separate and limiting staff that are present.

The Conservative Party will announce a new party leader after August 21, 2020 as soon as ballots can be properly processed and examined by scrutineers while respecting any health guidelines in place at that time.