Trudeau Facing Backlash After Ditching 2 Of The 5 Political Debates

With federal elections right around the corner, Canada's political debates are about to get underway throughout the next few months. While these debates are meant to help showcase why Canadians should vote for the running candidates, current Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is facing some backlash after it was announced that he would not be attending certain debates. 

Earlier this week, it was announced that Trudeau would not be attending a variety of debates including the Munk Debates and the Maclean's/Citytv Debate that are both scheduled for later this month. While Trudeau still has no current plans for attending these debates, it was announced Friday that voters will be able to see him at the French TVA debate. Yet, this debate will be spoken in French.  

However, it's not just Trudeau who will be missing out on some of the upcoming debates. In fact, it seems that multiple debates will be lacking some of the Canadian political leaders this year, as the first-ever Canadian debate that is scheduled for Sept. 12, will only have three candidates. 

The Maclean's National Leader Debate will only have Elizabeth May, Jagmeet Singh and Andrew Scheer in attendance. Both Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and PPC leader Maxime Bernier have not confirmed their attendance.  

Nonetheless, Trudeau is getting lots of backlash. Even though Trudeau has confirmed that he will be in attendance at the TVA Debate and the two debates commissioned by the Leaders' Debates Commission, Canadians still don't seem to think this is enough.

Some Twitter users even point out that as the current Prime Minister, he should be in attendance to all debates that will be happening in preparation for the federal election in October. One user even stating, "How can anyone vote for a PM that wants to pick and choose what, how and where they are going to debate?" 

However, it's not just Canadian voters who seem to have a problem with the Prime Minister, or any other Canadian political leader blowing off some of the upcoming debates. 

The organizers of the debates are now getting involved. Munk Debates has actually created a petition in attempts to get Trudeau to be part of their debate in October. 

Justin has not confirmed if he will be in the first Canadian debate, but you can tune in to watch him at the TVA debate on October 2. 

The Canadian federal elections are set to take place on October 21. 

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