CityVote Day 20: Leaders prep for Tuesday’s debate

The provincial party leaders have relatively light campaign schedules Monday as they prepare for the televised debate Tuesday night.

Liberal Leader Dalton McGuinty and Progressive Conservative chief Tim Hudak both made stops in Toronto Monday. NDP Leader Andrea Horwath has no scheduled campaign events so far.

McGuinty attended a women’s leadership lunch at the Royal York hotel and Hudak greeted morning commuters at a Mississauga GO station.

The opinion polls have shown the provincial race is a close one, particularly between the Liberals and PCs. The televised debate will certainly play a big role in the outcome of the Oct. 6 vote, especially because the debate is so close to the end of the campaign, Henry Jacek, a political science professor at McMaster University, said.

McGuinty has an edge going into Tuesday’s showdown with three previous leaders’ debates under his belt — this will be both Hudak and Horwath’s first.

Hudak and Horwath took part in a debate last week in Thunder Bay on issues facing northern voters. McGuinty didn’t attend due to scheduling conflicts.

McGuinty will likely be asked to defend his promise to scrap a gas-fired power plant west of Toronto at Tuesday’s debate. The Liberals say they want to halt construction on the facility, around the Etobicoke/Mississauga border, due to strong neighbourhood opposition.

The local Liberal incumbent, Charles Sousa, said the area has grown significantly since the project was announced in 2005.

Hudak and Horwath claim McGuinty’s surprise announcement over the weekend was a vote grab.

With files from The Canadian Press