Manitoba leaders to square off in televised election debate Thursday

The leaders of Manitoba’s three largest political parties will meet Thursday night for a televised debate ahead of the Oct. 3 provincial election.

Progressive Conservative Leader Heather Stefanson, NDP Leader Wab Kinew, and Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont will debate the issues at 6 p.m., live on Global in Winnipeg. Audio from the debate will also be broadcast on 680 CJOB, and the video will be streamed on this page.

The leaders, who met for a live radio debate on 680 CJOB Monday morning and an in-person event at the Winnipeg Chambers of Commerce on Wednesday, are coming into the home stretch of the election campaign, with just over a week to get their message across to voters.

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According to recent polling, the campaign is looking like an uphill battle for incumbent Stefanson and her PC party, with the latest survey from the non-partisan Angus Reid Institute showing the NDP with a six-point advantage over the PCs among decided and leaning voters provincewide. The NDP’s lead widens in the city of Winnipeg, which contains the majority of the province’s electoral districts.

Lamont and the Liberals remain in third place, with Manitoba’s Green Party and others picking up small amounts of support in the low single-digits.

Following Thursday’s hour-long debate, the leaders meet in Brandon next week for another face-off.

Advance polls for the Manitoba election open Saturday and the election is Oct. 3.

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