WATCH: Voting day is still a long way off, but Canada’s federal leaders lined up Thursday night to take each other on in the first debate of the campaign. Debates can matter: a big gaffe can sink a leader’s chances and a strong performance can resurrect a flagging campaign. Eric Sorensen brings the analysis of the debate.
OTTAWA – The first leader’s debate of the federal election campaign started with a heated exchange over Conservative Party Leader Stephen Harper’s record on the economy.
But the debate touched on a range of issues, from the environment and Senate reform to Quebec separatism and foreign policy.
Within moments of it ending, the Conservatives, Liberals and New Democrats declared victory for their respective leaders.
The NDP’s Tom Mulcair, touted by Harper as a big-spending, big-taxing party leader, came out early to declare that the biggest threat to Canada is the prospect of another four years with the Conservatives in power.
WATCH: Global News’ Jacques Bourbeau breaks down the winners and losers of Thursday’s debate and if there will be any impact on the election.
As the man in charge for almost a decade, Harper was repeatedly forced to defend his policies.
READ MORE: 4 highlights from the first leaders debate
But he later stood back as Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau, running third place in public opinion polls, turned his sights on Mulcair with attacks over the NDP leader’s pledge for special status for Quebec.
Mulcair said in June that his party supports the so-called Sherbrooke Declaration of 2005, which endorses the principle of recognizing a referendum victory by the sovereigntist Yes side even by a majority of just 50 per cent plus one.
Trudeau said, by doing so, Mulcair is actually disagreeing with the Supreme Court, which ruled unanimously that “one vote is not enough to break up the country.”
Harper blamed low oil prices for the slumping economy, but both Mulcair and Trudeau argued that Harper’s policies — particularly a plan to allow income-splitting for families with children under 18 — were partly responsible for draining the federal treasury.
Mulcair and Green party Leader Elizabeth May reminded Harper that in the 2008 election, he denied the country had slid into recession when in fact it was on the verge of economic crisis.
All of the leaders are back on the campaign trail today in the run-up to an October 19th election.
INTERACTIVE: Twitter mentions for each leader during the debate
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