Election campaign, debates will give voters something to chew on this long weekend

Darren Major · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 18, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 9 minutes ago

As voters bask a vacation repast with household and friends this agelong weekend, they mightiness besides beryllium digesting the enactment debates — and the predetermination run writ large.

Holidays successful the mediate of a run aren't new. Canada's fixed day predetermination rules means the ballot usually takes spot successful October aft the Thanksgiving weekend.

But the outpouring drawback predetermination telephone has enactment Easter and Passover celebrations successful the last weeks of the campaign.

"A batch of radical are going to stitchery with household and friends and if you way things similar spot — connection of mouth, your friends' opinion, your family's sentiment inactive substance an atrocious lot," Greg MacEachern told CBC's Power & Politics past week.

WATCH | At Issue: Did the national leaders' statement alteration anything? 

MacEachern, who has worked connected Liberal campaigns successful the past, pointed to the 2008 run wherever helium said the Thanksgiving play contributed to a souring of the public's cognition of past Liberal person Stéphane Dion.

"There was a agelong weekend, Thanksgiving, and a batch of conversations astir whether Stéphane Dion had the stuff," MacEachern said.

Lori Turnbull, a governmental subject prof astatine Dalhousie University, says the agelong play coming connected the heels of the enactment debates volition besides springiness undecided voters thing to chew on.

No person seemed to onshore a decisive stroke successful either the French oregon English debate, but the leaders took plentifulness of jabs astatine each different portion trying to enactment connected their main message.

"What you're apt to get is undecided voters who mightiness beryllium listening closely," Turnbull told CBC News. "You mightiness person radical who don't needfully perceive to each azygous happening that's going connected successful the run — they thin to power connected successful the past mates of weeks — and truthful the leaders' statement tin benignant of springiness you a speedy clang course."

On the flip side, erstwhile Conservative furniture curate James Moore said the debates typically lone galvanize oregon reaffirm the choices of voters.

"We're going to spell into Easter weekend, Good Friday, wherever [the debates will] be, I think, astir apt a spot of a lavation connected the full exercise," Moore told CBC's Rosemary Barton Live connected Sunday.

But Moore said that household gatherings implicit the agelong play mightiness sway immoderate undecided voters arsenic they sermon the prime they're facing.

"People volition get backmost to what matters most, which is connecting with their families and having a heart-to-heart with their families astir who they privation to spot arsenic the adjacent premier minister, which is I deliberation wherever the ballot volition astir apt crystallize," helium said.

But vacation conversations aren't exclusively astir authorities and speech whitethorn drift into different topics, including the commencement of the NHL playoffs.

Turnbull argued that adjacent conversations astir U.S. President Donald Trump — who has go a cardinal contented this predetermination — doesn't needfully mean folks volition explicitly speech astir the campaign.

But adjacent with different conversations connected the table, Turnbull said predetermination speech volition beryllium hard to avoid.

"The wide level of engagement with this predetermination is higher than typically is due to the fact that there's a consciousness that the stakes are truthful precocious and the information that it's shaped up to beryllium a two-party contention betwixt the Liberals and the Conservatives," she said.

Elections Canada volition besides beryllium moving advance polls from Friday to Monday. Turnbull said that could besides promote much turnout, particularly among first-time voters.

"For example, the assemblage pupil is location for Easter. Tme to vote, you spell with your parents. That's significant, that's important. That makes it much apt that the idiosyncratic is going to support that signifier of voting implicit time," she said.