Leaders set to hit the debate stage Telegraph-Journal (Print Edition)·Tom Bateman CA|September 02, 2020·08:00am Section: A·Page: A1 Party leaders will share a stage four times starting this Thursday when Brunswick News and Rogers host the campaign’s first debate in at 7 p.m.

It marks the start of the debate phase of the snap election campaign.

Brunswick News editor-in-chief Jackson Doughart called leaders’ debates “the highlight of an election campaign.”

“We are excited to partner with Rogers to bring voters a great opportunity to hear from the candidates vying to become the next premier,” he said.

NDP Leader and Gerald Bourque, the leader of the KISS NB Party, will feature in the Rogers debate, in accordance with a policy that sees invites go out to the leaders of each registered party in the province, said Rogers TV producer Jeff Despres.

Next week, the leaders of the four parties currently sitting in the legislature – (Progressive Conservative), Kevin Vickers (Liberal), David Coon (Green party) and (People’s Alliance) – will all attend:

• Pre-taped forums in French and in English, hosted by l’Acadie Nouvelle, Radio- and CBC on Wednesday, Sept. 9. The leaders will be asked about their vision on a variety of topics, based on questions posed by journalists and voters.

• A leaders’ roundtable hosted by CTV anchor Steve Murphy on Sept. 10.

Thomason will attend the Sept. 9 events, but didn’t get an invite to the CTV debate because it was restricted to parties with seats in the Legislature, spokesperson Nathan Davis said.

“We haven’t been invited to participate in any others that I am aware of. Mackenzie’s work schedule (overnight rotations) have added an extra layer of complication that the other leaders do not have to contend with,” he said.

Different challenges for leaders

In light of recent polls projecting a Tory majority is within Higgs’s grasp, Université de Moncton political scientist Roger Ouellette said the French event in particular is an opportunity for Higgs to reach Francophones who could be convinced to vote PC, in order to see their ridings represented in cabinet. Ouellette said there are examples of strong francophone PC candidates, many of them women, running in ridings that have a history of flipping to the party tracking to make government.

The professor pointed to Diane Carey in Tracadie-Sheila, Marie-Eve Castonguay in Madawaska-les-Lacs-Edmundston, and Jean-Gérard Chiasson in Shippagan-Lamèque- Miscou as three examples of such ridings.

“If I were to give some advice to Higgs at the French debate, I’d say try to be nice, smile and give your hand to the Francophones. Try to be more cozy,” Ouellette suggested.

Because it’s a forum and not a pure debate format, it will be easier for Higgs to stay on message, he suggested. For Kevin Vickers, it’s the opposite challenge.

Ouellette said his task will be to appeal to voters in the southern part of the province while fending off attacks from both Higgs and Coon, whose Green party could disrupt the Liberal vote share like it did in 2018.