By Troy Gillard

Decision 2019

Leaders to square off in debate Thursday

Mar 30, 2019 | 10:53 AM

A debate featuring the leaders of Alberta’s main political parties will take place in Edmonton this Thursday, April 4.

The 90-minute televised debate will get underway starting at 5:30 p.m. MT. The debate is being hosted by a consortium including CTV, CBC, Rogers and Postmedia.

So far, UCP Leader Jason Kenney, Liberal Leader David Khan and Alberta Party Leader Stephen Mandel have confirmed their participation in the debate.

NDP Leader Rachel Notley has been invited, but has yet to confirm she will take part (as of 10:30 a.m. Saturday).

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“We’re still considering the (consortium) proposal for a televised debate,” Notley spokesperson Chery Oates said on Twitter. “It’s important Albertans have the opportunity to hear from the leaders. Our hope is that the debate will include all parties that were represented in the legislature.”

Only parties elected to the legislature under their current party banner were invited to participate.

Freedom Conservative Party Leader Derek Fildebrandt, who was elected to legislature as a member of the Wildrose Party and was briefly a member of the UCP, has not been invited to participate in the debate (as of 10:30 a.m. Saturday).

In a statement, Fildebrandt says, “To exclude the FCP from the leaders debate would be arbitrary and grossly undemocratic. The media consortium needs to show that it puts more weight on open democratic debates than the lobbying of Jason Kenney. The FCP is calling on the leaders of all parties – left and right – to withhold participation until decades of precedence is respected and the FCP is allowed to participate.”

Mandel and Khan are not current MLAs but their parties do have elected members.