CityVote Day 19: Leaders’ debates signal election mid-point

They tuned in by the millions and tweeted by the tens of thousands during the English language leaders’ debate.

But were Canadian voters turned on?

With round two set to go Wednesday night in French, the three major federalist parties were furiously spinning their respective leaders’ performances in the previous night’s English-language skirmish.

Public interest in the May 2 federal election, Canada’s fourth in seven years, has been slow to build, but televised leaders’ confrontations — coming as they do at the mid-point of a campaign — usually signal the dinner bell on voter appetites.

Not surprisingly, representatives of Conservative Leader Stephen Harper, Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff, NDP Leader Jack Layton and Gilles Duceppe of the Bloc Quebecois all claimed victory for their standard bearers.

“Michael Ignatieff wins debate with focus on economic choices, democracy and health care,” crowed the Liberals in a news release.

“Jack Layton dominated the English language debate … clearly articulating the concerns of Canadian families and proving he’s the only leader who can take on Stephen Harper,” boasted the New Democrats.

Conservatives, following Harper’s Tuesday night debate example of simply talking past his opponents, framed Round 1 this way: “A Clear Choice for Canadians: Low-Tax Stability and Security or High-Tax Uncertainty and Risk.”

Only the Bloc — perhaps feeling the English-language debate wasn’t worth the effort — didn’t bother to spin their leader’s performance Wednesday.

Some 3.85 million viewers tuned in to Tuesday’s broadcast on three different networks — an increase of 22 per cent over the 2008 leaders’ debates, according to CTV.

An analysis by digital public affairs strategist Mark Blevis using a program called Sysomos found there were also 35,379 comments about the debate on Twitter, making the debate one of the 10 most talked-about topics Tuesday among all Twitter users worldwide.

Pundits, for the most part, gave the initial round to Harper simply because he appeared unflappable and prime ministerial in the face of attacks from three opponents.

The Conservative leader chided his political rivals for constant “bickering” and warned Canadians they could expect more of the same if they don’t elect a Tory majority.

Harper stuck largely to his message of economic recovery and stable government, passing over allegations of Tory deception, dubious spending practices and secretive, conspiratorial administration.

Ignatieff accused Harper of dismissing the parry and thrust of democratic parliamentary debate as a “little debating society that’s a pesky interference” in his rule over the country.

But it was Layton who wielded some of the most stinging blows of the night in spite of his cancer battle and hip surgery, telling Harper that if it wasn’t for Ignatieff’s support on key legislation in Parliament, the minority prime minister might need Layton’s “crutch” to prop up his government.

Holding the French language debate last is a break from tradition. It usually serves as a warm-up act to the more widely viewed English debate, and tends to focus on regional Quebec issues.

This election, polls suggest all four federal parties can win seats in Quebec, whose 75 ridings make it the second weightiest province, after Ontario, in the House of Commons.

If Harper is to win his coveted majority, he’ll need to maintain the 11 Conservative seats he had when his minority government fell on March 25.

The Bloc has held least half the province’s seats in every federal election since 1993, while the traditionally strong Liberals have been reduced to 14 seats, most of them around Montreal. The NDP won a lone Montreal seat in 2008, their first ever in the province in a general election.

This year’s debates consist of six segments, each featuring two leaders squaring off in a six-minute showdown after a pre-recorded question from a Canadian voter. Each segment ends with a brief free-for-all debate involving all four leaders.

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