Canada

So this debate could be the event that finally breaks the deadlock in the polls. Even if its English-speaking audience is limited to Ottawa reporters in the parliamentary press gallery, what happens in this debate still could have an impact on what happens in the rest of the country.

Huffington Post Canada’s Ottawa bureau chief and upcoming election debate moderator Althia Raj dined with Justin Trudeau’s best friend and disgraced former principal secretary Gerald Butts Sunday evening, a week before the official leaders’ English debate.

Our special guest speakers will be giving a post-debate rundown and sharing their takes on what came tumbling out of the party leaders’ mouths and what it means for the upcoming election.

"The scope and reach by which the debates will be available to all of Canada is unprecedented in our political history," says Commissioner David Johnston. "It's our hope that all Canadians will come together in this shared experience. Too often, we focus on the things that separate us," he adds.

The People’s Party of Canada (PPC) leader Maxime Bernier, who did not qualify last month, now meets the criteria to participate, according to the debates commissioner.

Organizers of a foreign-policy election debate that was scheduled for next Tuesday have cancelled the event because Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau won’t participate.

The four main party leaders were questioned Monday on whether they would support calls for Maxime Bernier to be removed from the televised federal election debates.

The commission, you’ll recall, initially denied Bernier, the Peoples Party of Canada leader, a debate invitation. Yet it tempered that rebuff by offering the PPC the chance to submit several ridings where it believed it had a “legitimate chance” of winning. If the fledgling far-right party could

One thing is clear, marketing experts say Andrew Scheer will have to be more animated when he debates against Justin Trudeau, especially with his former leadership rival, Maxime Bernier, now in the mix.

In such a tight race, Bernier's sudden elevation to the big stage will change the debate dynamic

Who’s afraid of Maxime Bernier? Plenty of people, judging from some of the over-the-top reaction to the decision to let him into the leaders’ debates.

Bernier had previously been denied a chance to attend because the independent commission responsible for organizing the debates found his party did not have multiple candidates with a “legitimate chance” of being elected.