Ontario Provincial leaders debate tonight

OK, hard-core political wonks, this one is just for you. But, come to think of it, the wonks already know about the debate. So I guess this is just a heads-up for the mildly-interested. (Or Canadian voters who want to do their homework?)

It’s debate night for the main provincial party leaders ahead of election day in Ontario on Oct 6th. The debate will be broadcast from Toronto on CBC, CTV, Global, TVOntario and Sun News Network, between 6:30 and 8:30 PM. TVO’s Steve Paikin will moderate.

The incumbent Premier, Liberal Dalton McGuinty, is trying for a 3rd term. Tim Hudak, leads the official opposition, the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario. Andrea Horwath heads the New Democrat Party. Mike Schreiner leads the Greens, still hoping for their first seat at Queen’s Park. (Schreiner was not invited to debate.)

107 seats are up for election, 54 are needed to form a majority.

It’s a truism, but tonight’s debate is being described as crucial for all.

MPPs have been campaigning across the province since September 7th. Provincial election dates for Ontario are now set by law for the first Thursday of October every four years. (Of course, should a sitting government lose a vote of confidence, an election would occur sooner.)

This is something I need to understand more fully myself, but there’s more of a gap between provincial political parties and their federal counterparts than is true in the U.S.

There is a current “spin” on the national picture (Conservatives now dominate, Liberals have withered, the NDP has surged). But that may – or may not – resonate as loudly on the provincial level. It’s not a seamless cloth. Provincial results may vary!

Tags: canada, Ontario election 2011