Six very different people took the stage at Monday night’s All-Candidates Debate for the Trinity-Spadina riding. The auditorium was packed mostly with residents from the area, as students made up roughly a third.
In the 2006 election, Hart House hosted an all-candidates debate on campus. This year, the debate was cancelled when Chow said she wasn’t able to attend. The incumbent defended her absence, saying the debate would have taken place on Rosh Hashanah, and the proposed fallback date would have been on Eid, the last day of Ramadan.
At the Al Green Theatre Monday, Chow was notably confident in her surroundings. “Thank you for your support, neighbours!” she exclaimed in her three-minute introduction, setting a conversational tone.
The Liberal candidate, Christine Innes, was the only direct challenger of Olivia Chow, the NDP incumbent. But with six aspiring MPs in attendance—including a mumbling independent, Carlos Almedia, and awkward Libertarian Chester Brown, a graphic novelist best known for his autobiographical comics—there was plenty of partisan pandering to go around. Rounding out the role call were Stephen LaFrenie of the Green Party and Christine McGirr for the Conservatives.
Questions were varied and pertinent. Canada’s dependence on foreign oil was addressed early on, and immediately differentiated the candidates’ debate strategies. Chow was aggressive, comfortable in her position as advisor and friend to the community. Her desire to renegotiate NAFTA was met with restrained applause, though Chow did not mention how she would carry out such a feat in light of the changing U.S. political landscape.
Innes, who was more composed, offered a succinct breakdown of the Liberal Party’s Green Shift policy. Though she’s a first-time candidate, she spent years as campaign manager to her husband, 13-year MP Tony Ianno.
Every candidate claimed their party plans to increase scholarships and streamline the student loan process, in order to slow the trend of rising tuition costs. Innes, in particular, received huge applause when she argued that a federal Liberal government would work directly with Ontario’s Liberals to increase funding to post-secondary schools. “Students have a right to education!” she repeatedly said.
The evening went badly for the Conservative candidate, Christine McGirr. As she read repeatedly from prepared documents, cries of “Stop reading!” rang from the audience. McGirr did find support when she lambasted Chow for not being more publicly visible during the campaign, drawing cries of “Shame!” directed at Chow.
