Dates announced for the 2015 Leaders' Debates

OTTAWA, July 9, 2015 /CNW/ - Canada's largest broadcasters – CBC News, CTV News, Global News, Radio-Canada and Télé-Québec will hold the 2015 Leaders' Debates in the National Capital Region on October 7 in French and on October 8 in English.

As announced, Canada's largest broadcasters will produce two Leaders' Debates at the height of the 2015 federal electoral campaign. In consultation with the invited political parties, the dates chosen by the networks are as follows:

• The French-language debate will be held between 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. (ET) on Wednesday, October 7, 2015.
• The English-language debate will be held between 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. (ET) on Thursday, October 8, 2015.

The New Democratic Party of Canada, the Liberal Party of Canada, and the Green Party of Canada have agreed to participate in both of the televised debates. While disagreeing with its exclusion from the English debate, the Bloc Quebecois has committed to participate in the French language debate. With the Bloc Quebecois' participation in the French debate, the networks allocated an additional 30 minutes.

The 2015 Leaders' Debates will have unprecedented reach, and will be offered across all platforms with closed captioning and simultaneous translation. The debates will also be made available for other media outlets. As the negotiations with the invited parties' continue, the broadcasters maintain their invitation to the Conservative Party of Canada to participate in the televised debates. Details on the location and debate format will be announced at a later date.

About the Broadcast Consortium

The Broadcast Consortium is a partnership between CBC News, CTV News, Global News, Radio-Canada and Télé-Québec. Canada's major broadcasters pool their resources to ensure that the largest number of Canadians have access to leaders' debates during the height of the election campaign so they can make an informed decision about their political choices at the polls. Together with Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Vine, Google, YouTube, and CPAC, the networks' 2015 televised debates will reach millions of Canadians across the country and abroad, on multiple platforms, in both French and English.

SOURCE Broadcast Consortium

Liliane Lê, Consortium Spokesperson, 2015 Leaders' Debates, Tel: [phone], [email protected]