Conservative leadership contenders sparred with one another in a gimmicky first leaders’ debate on Wednesday night at the Edmonton Convention Centre. .The debate — moderated by former Canadian journalist Tom Clark, who once asked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau what shampoo he uses — included a sad trombone noise, props, and questions about which TV shows they most recently binge-watched..Leslyn Lewis, Roman Baber, Jean Charest, Scott Aitchison, Patrick Brown, and Pierre Poilievre began by finishing the sentence “my vision for Canada is,” which they were given ahead of the debate..Candidates that referenced another contender or the prime minister in their answer were penalized with a sad trombone noise..Another 20 minutes of the debate was devoted to personal questions. Candidates were asked about the book they’re currently reading, the music they enjoy, which political figure they look up to, and the last show they binge-watched..Baber said he loves Amy Winehouse, noting his passion for mental health issues. Poilievre said he’s reading Jordan Peterson’s 12 Rules For Life. Charest struggled to remember the name of the book he’s reading, only saying it’s a book about Russia. Aitchison said he most recently binge-watched Brooklyn Nine-Nine at the recommendation of another Conservative MP. And Brown said his favorite artist is Alessia Cara, who grew up in Brampton where he presides as mayor..Asked about the format following the debate, Brown said “it was a fun night” and led to a “feisty discussion.”.Brown did not participate in the first unofficial leaders’ debate on Thursday at the Canada Strong and Free Networking Conference in Ottawa..Lewis said the personal questions “lightened up" the debate and the first hour wasn’t as competitive. She also told the Western Standard the personal questions threw her off because she was expecting policy questions..Candidates did have a chance to speak to some policy issues..During a brief period of "rapid-fire" questions, all candidates said they oppose a no-fly zone over Ukraine, except for Brown, who said Ukraine is requesting a no-fly zone. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s photo-ops are not enough for Ukraine, he said..In response to a question about abortion laws, most candidates said they would stay out of the issue, except for Lewis who said she’s pro-life..During a “face-off” period, candidates were given a paddle which they were allowed to hold up five times to interject and debate with another candidate..“It was a challenging format, but I think we did well,” Clark concluded at the end of the debate.
