CBC scraps mayoral debate after John Tory refuses to face Jennifer Keesmaat alone

Thestar.com
October 4, 2018
Jennifer Pagliaro

John Tory’s refusal to meet challenger Jennifer Keesmaat head on has led the CBC to cancel plans for a mayoral election debate.

On Wednesday, CBC announced it had scrapped plans for a one-on-one debate on Oct. 16 that would have been moderated by Metro Morning’s Matt Galloway and broadcast on TV, radio and online.

John Tory, right, has turned down CBC’s proposal for a one-on-one debate between him and Jennifer Keesmaat, the leading challenger in Toronto’s mayoral race.

The commercial-free broadcast would have been available free to any other outlet that wished to air the coverage, the CBC said.

“John Tory has declined the invitation, saying he will only participate in debates that include more candidates, with suggestions of who, using different criteria than those we’ve used for years,” wrote Marissa Nelson, CBC’s senior managing director for Ontario, in a post on the broadcaster’s website.

Nelson noted media and politicians understandably have different priorities, but urged Tory to reconsider.

“To change our criteria now, at the mayor’s behest, would be arbitrary and would give the appearance of bending to one candidate’s wishes,” she wrote. “We will not undermine our editorial independence.”

In a statement Wednesday, Tory’s campaign said it was “disappointing that the CBC has decided not to move forward with including diverse voices in their debate.”

“Before any debates took place, the mayor called on all organizers of campaign debates to respect local democracy by including more candidates in the discussion,” the statement said. “Several organizations and media outlets saw the value in this commitment. They were and will be holding debates with multiple candidates who add new ideas, perspectives, and too often under-represented voices to the discussion on our democracy.”

Nelson outlined the CBC’s process for preparing election debates, saying it weighs “various factors,” including a “balance of polls, published platforms and endorsements” and other criteria, to determine which candidates are likely to win.

The Star and other media outlets have also identified Tory and Keesmaat as the top candidates in the mayoral race.

“Debates influence campaign results. A debate allows the audience to see candidates go head-to-head in an unfiltered way. It lets people see how well they know the issues, and how well they think on their feet,” Nelson said in her post.

The benefit of a debate between the top candidates is to “see these front-runners answer similar questions, be challenged directly and face difficult questions,” she said.

“We decided and genuinely believe that a one-on-one debate would be the best way to help the citizens of Toronto make an informed choice about who should lead the city.”

Following the chaos that came from the province’s midcampaign cut to the size of council, this race has seen far fewer mayoral debates than during past campaigns.

All of the debates held so far have included other candidates, such as lawyer Saron Gebresellassi and environmental advocate Sarah Climenhaga.

A Toronto Real Estate Board event Wednesday featured Tory and Keesmaat separately speaking one after the other with a moderated question-and-answer session between. But many of the approximately 400 realtors in attendance left after Tory spoke, before Keesemaat took the stage.

The event was never planned as a debate. The two spoke back to back to accommodate Keesmaat’s schedule, because she had an earlier commitment, according to Von Palmer, chief communications and government affairs officer at the real estate board.

It now appears Tory and Keesmaat may never debate one-on-one. Tory had earlier said he believes debates should have more candidates involved, citing diversity concerns.

Polls indicate that Tory remains well ahead of Keesmaat, providing him little incentive to give her greater exposure by debating her individually.

“Mr. Tory must find it upsetting that his campaign doesn’t think he is capable of debating Jennifer Keesmaat,” Keesmaat’s campaign said Wednesday, saying Tory’s camp has been working to “suppress” any face-to-face debate.

“For her part, Jennifer Keesmaat is prepared to debate John Tory on the issues -- on any stage, with or without other candidates -- as she has demonstrated in the campaign.”

At least one other group, Faith in the City, says it cancelled plans for a debate -- on poverty reduction -- after the Tory campaign said he wouldn’t debate Keesmaat alone and Keesmaat’s campaign said it preferred a two-person debate.

In 2014, Tory and then mayoral candidate Doug Ford sparred over debate participation. After Ford pulled out of a debate a month before election day, Tory said he was “a guy who doesn't think he has to earn this job by showing up at the debates and actually standing with the other candidates and answering questions.”