top of page

100 Debates will take place over two nights across Canada before the 2021 federal election

Toronto, August 16, 2021 -- Today, GreenPAC announced to MPs, candidates, and voters that 100 debates on the environment will take place across the country during a two-day period. These non-partisan all-candidates debates will be held virtually before Canadians go to the polls.


Given the constraints imposed by the tight election and with early voting beginning on September 10, GreenPAC's English language debates will take place on September 8 and French language debates will take place on September 9. This will allow all Canadians to view both the televised Leaders' Debates and 100 Debates on the Environment.


Tim Grant (Green Party of Canada), Melissa Jean-Baptiste Vajda (NDP), and Deputy Prime Minister/Minister of Finance the Hon. Chrystia Freeland (Liberal Party of Canada) at 2019's 100 Debates on the Environment in the University-Rosedale riding of Ontario.

"Over 50 debates are already confirmed, with more organizers getting on board and new locations added every day," said GreenPAC Executive Director Sarah Van Exan (see current list of ridings below). "This is a rare opportunity for candidates to talk to Canadians about what the future looks like if we get environmental policy right and how they plan to bring us all closer to that future."



"Candidates need to show voters that they got the memo - good environmental policy is good health policy and good economic policy. But more than that, they need to share how they plan to protect, rebuild and restore by putting the environment first," said Van Exan. A 100 Debates organizer added, "Actions to mitigate [environmental collapse] have never before been more urgently crucial than they are at this moment...as we approach an election, determining the course our nation will take is necessary because our window of opportunity is narrowing."


Each debate will have non-partisan hosts drawn from the community, including individuals from local non-profit organizations, health groups, schools, colleges and universities. For the 2019 Federal Election, GreenPAC joined forces with Équiterre to pull off this ambitious project for the first time. 104 debates later, 16,500 voters connected with 411 candidates to talk about the issues. Notably, 87 of those candidates were elected to office. To date, this was the largest single-issue debate initiative in Canadian history -- and showed candidates that voters expect accountability on the environment.

In 2021, GreenPAC aims to generate an even greater national conversation. This time, they are going a step further, with a focus not only on awareness but solutions. Van Exan observed, "This year's 100 Debates on The Environment will be a platform for candidates to share their ideas and for voters to hold them accountable for those ideas. Look for a debate in your riding, and call on your local candidates to attend. Spread the word and show up!" Want to get involved? Sign up to join local leaders and citizens across Canada to organize a debate in your riding. Help us surpass the goal of 100 debates across Canada. -30- ABOUT 100 DEBATES ON THE ENVIRONMENT: 100 Debates on the Environment is a project coordinated by GreenPAC. Visit www.100debates.ca/debates for more information on the project and for a list of local debates. RIDINGS WITH CONFIRMED DEBATE ORGANIZERS Alberta Calgary Centre BC Central Okanagan-Similkameen-Nicola Coquitlam-Port Coquitlam Coquitlam-Port Moody Cowichan-Malahat-Langford Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo Pitt Meadows-Maple Ridge Richmond Centre Stevenston-Richmond East Vancouver Kingsway West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country Manitoba Dauphin-Swan River-Neepawa Elmwood-Transcona Winnipeg South Centre Ontario Barrie-Innisfil Barrie-Springwater-Oro-Medonte Beaches-East York Brampton East Brampton West Burlington Davenport Elgin-Middlesex-London Etobicoke Centre Etobicoke North Etobicoke-Lakeshore Guelph Halton Hills -Wellington Leeds-Grenville-Thousand London North Centre London West London-Fanshawe Milton Northumberland-Peterborough South Oakville Oakville North-Burlington Ottawa Centre Ottawa South Ottawa Vanier Ottawa West-Nepean Parkdale-High Park Perth-Wellington Peterborough-Kawartha Scarborough Southwest Simcoe-Grey St. Catharines Toronto-St Pauls University Rosedale Windsor West York-South Weston Quebec Pontiac New Brunswick Beauséjour Fredericton Saint John-Rothesay Nova Scotia Halifax Halifax West ABOUT GREENPAC: GreenPAC was launched in 2015 and is Canada's non-partisan non-profit organization that works to build environmental leadership in politics. GreenPAC's other initiatives include a political internship program on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, as well as a non-partisan endorsement program for aspiring political candidates with a demonstrated commitment to the environment. Visit www.greenpac.ca for more information. For more information or interview requests, please contact: Beata Rasitsan, Senior Communications Manager (GreenPAC), 416-897-9838, b.rasitsan@greenpac.ca.

Σχόλια


bottom of page