The campaign for Pierre Poilievre, the perceived front-runner in the federal Conservative leadership race, announced Thursday that he will not participate in the party’s third debate scheduled for August, facing the consequence of a $50,000 fine. Jenni Byrne, a senior member of Poilievre’s team, posted a scathing statement on Twitter explaining his decision after the party announced it would go ahead with the debate in early August. Conservative party rules say candidates must take part in formal leadership debates or face an “automatic penalty of $50,000”. “Participation is compulsory and no substitution will be allowed,” according to the rules. Byrne’s statement noted that Poulievre participated in the first two formal debates in May, plus one held by the Canada Strong and Free Network — an organization that promotes the conservative movement. He also criticized the English-language debate held in Edmonton in May because it featured sound effects and a series of questions about the candidates’ taste in music and television. “It wasn’t the campaign’s fault that the Edmonton party debate was widely recognized as an embarrassment … the candidates were given ping-pong paddles to stand up when they wanted to speak. It was more of a game show than a debate,” the statement read. “And it happened despite strong warnings to the party about both the moderator and the scheme — all of which were ignored.” The debate was hosted by former veteran political journalist Tom Clark, whom Poilievre’s campaign criticized as a “liberal media personality of the Laurentian elite.” A request for comment from Clark has not yet been returned. Party spokesman Jaroslav Baran said he understood “there are multiple views on the discussions that have taken place so far” and pointed out how the rules of the race say participation is mandatory. Byrne’s statement said the party’s plan for a third debate comes as the Poilievre campaign works to win votes among Conservative members. Party members have until early September to return their ballots before the results are revealed in Ottawa on September 10. Voting is already underway with most of the more than 670,000 ballots having been mailed to members. “The only goal of the campaign now is to get new members and existing members to complete their ballots and submit them before the September deadline. Pierre will be on the road again, non-stop, to help make that happen “, Poilievre’s campaign said. The statement continues to attack leadership candidate Jean Charest’s repeated calls for a third debate, saying the former Quebec premier could not draw the same audience sizes as Poilievre during the phase of the race when candidates were selling subscriptions to supporters. “That’s why he wants another conversation — to use Pierre’s popularity with members to carve out an audience he can’t get on his own.” In addition to Charest, candidates Scott Aitchison and Roman Baber had also voiced their support at another debate. Leslyn Lewis’ campaign had said she would attend as required. Poilievre’s decision to skip the debate means there will be not one, but two fewer candidates on the stage, given Patrick Brown’s recent disqualification over allegations he may have violated federal election laws. Brown denied the accusation. The party says the decision to host a debate in August came after a member survey last week, with a majority of the 24,000 respondents expressing support for another debate. The decision to proceed was made on Wednesday night by the organizing committee for elections for the leadership of the party. Although officials and campaigns have just weeks to plan the event, the campaigns were told earlier in the race that their candidates could be called back for a debate in early August at the party’s discretion. This report by The Canadian Press was first published on July 21, 2022.
