Leaders' Debates Commission has revoked the Green Party's invitation to participate in the upcoming federal election debates after the party failed to field enough candidates nationwide.
Initially invited to the debates earlier this month, the Green Party now faces exclusion after strategically withdrawing approximately 15 candidates from Conservative-leaning ridings.
This decision dropped their number of candidates to just 232, or just 68% of Canada's 343 electoral districts, well below the required 90% threshold to participate in the Leaders’ Debates.
"Deliberately reducing the number of candidates running for strategic reasons is inconsistent with the Commission's interpretation of party viability, which criterion (iii) was designed to measure," said the Leaders' Debates Commission.
"The Commission concludes that the inclusion of the leader of the Green Party of Canada in these circumstances would undermine the integrity of the debates and the interests of the voting public.”
Green Party co-leader Jonathan Pedneault defended the party's reduced slate, citing volunteer intimidation in some ridings and difficulties with the nomination process.
Green spokesperson Rod Leggett claimed candidates encountered problems with returning officers who lacked updated electoral lists.
"Elections Canada is a top-notch election management body, recognized across the globe. But at the local level, the Green Party has experienced higher levels of issues than in the past," said Leggett.
The commission requires parties to meet two of three criteria for debate participation. A party must have at least one sitting MP elected under the party banner, demonstrating four percent national support in polls, or running candidates in at least 90% of the ridings.
Though the Greens submitted a list of 343 endorsed candidates to the commission in March, their final Elections Canada filing by the April 7 deadline showed significantly fewer candidates.
Elections Canada acknowledged the Green Party's concerns but stated the candidate list is now final, suggesting timing issues may have contributed to the shortfall.