The French-language leaders’ debate has been moved two hours earlier to avoid coinciding with the Montreal Canadiens’ final game of the season.
The debate will take place on April 16 at 6 p.m. instead of 8 p.m.
The move came after Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh expressed concerns the high-stakes game could impact viewership of the debate.
Five political party leaders are set to debate in Montreal this week, with the English-language debate taking place on April 17.
April 16 is also the date the Montreal Canadiens will play their last regular-season game. The team currently sits in the last wildcard spot to access the post-season and needs an extra point to clinch a playoff berth. The Habs were unable to seal the deal on April 14 when they hosted the NHL’s last-place team, the Chicago Blackhawks, falling 4–3 in overtime.
“We’re asking people—especially in Quebec—to choose between a critical democratic debate and cheering on the Habs in a must-win game,” Singh said in a statement. “This kind of political discussion shouldn’t compete with something that means so much to so many.”
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Blanchet had suggested to reporters on April 15 the game could be held earlier instead of moving the date, given advance polling will begin on April 18.
“Let’s not underestimate the importance of this debate for Quebec’s democracy, and I want to say, let’s not underestimate the quality of the game,” Blanchet said.
The Columbus Blue Jackets are trailing the Habs by four points but have two games in hand. If they lose on April 15, the Habs would automatically enter the playoffs, something Blanchet said he’s strongly hoping for. If the Blue Jackets win their two remaining games and the Habs lose Wednesday, they would tie for points but pass them in the standings with an extra win.
Singh noted in his statement that making a request to reschedule a leaders’ debate is not without precedent. The French-language debate was postponed in 2011 to avoid a conflict with a first playoff game between rivals the Canadiens and the Boston Bruins. Former Bloc Leader Gilles Duceppe had first requested the rescheduling at the time.
The Epoch Times reached out to the Liberal Party, the Conservative Party, and the Leaders’ Debates Commission for comment, but didn’t immediately hear back.
Liberal Leader Mark Carney was asked by reporters about the French-language debate on April 15, on the topic of whether he would be “playing offence or defence.”
“I’m going to concentrate on neither attack nor defence, but I will focus on transparency to inform those Canadians who choose to watch the debate instead of the Habs game,” he said. “And I‘ll leave it to the Habs to decide the right combination of attack and defence over the course of ’le grand match.’”
On top of playoff frenzy gripping Montreal and the province of Quebec more broadly, there has been much excitement with the arrival of a top prospect drafted 5th overall last year. The Habs received reinforcements on April 14, with 19-year-old Russian phenom Ivan Demidov playing his first NHL game.
Demidov arrived in North America after setting a record in the Russian KHL for the most points in a season for players under 20.
He didn’t waste time making an impact, setting up the Habs’ first goal and scoring the second on a breakaway, all in the first period.
