The Munk Debates are a semi-annual series of

debates Debate is a process that involves formal discourse, discussion, and oral addresses on a particular topic or collection of topics, often with a moderator and an audience. In a debate, arguments are put forward for opposing viewpoints. Historica ...

on major policy issues held in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. They are run by the Aurea Foundation, a charitable foundation set up by

Peter Munk Peter Munk (November 8, 1927 – March 28, 2018) was a Hungarian-Canadian businessman, investor, founder and philanthropist. He was the founder and chief executive officer of a number of high-profile business ventures, including the hi-fi electr ...

, founder of mining company

Barrick Gold Barrick Mining Corporation is a mining company that produces gold and copper. It has mining operations and projects in Argentina, Canada, Chile, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Mali, Pakista ...

, and his wife Melanie Munk. The debate series was founded in 2008 by Munk and

Rudyard Griffiths Rudyard Griffiths (born 1970) is a Canadian author, television broadcaster, and philanthropic adviser. He has been a columnist at the ''National Post,'' ''Toronto Star'' and The Hub and a television anchor on CTV News Channel and the Busines ...

, who moderates most of the debates. The Munk debates are held in Toronto, at steadily larger venues as they have proven popular. Tickets are sold to the general public, and sell out shortly after being made available. A poll is taken from the audience both before and after each debate. The winner of the debate is determined by how many people are persuaded to move from one opinion side to the other. The debates have been broadcast on

CBC Radio CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...

's '' Ideas'' as well as CPAC. The more recent ones have also appeared on international broadcasters including

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

and

C-SPAN Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American Cable television in the United States, cable and Satellite television in the United States, satellite television network, created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a Non ...

Debates

* Indicates a corrected count. The initial tally was incorrect; table includes the final, corrected accounting''.''

Debate histories

In 2018, the debates hosted

Steve Bannon Stephen Kevin Bannon (born November 27, 1953) is an American media executive, political strategist, and former investment banker. He served as the White House's chief strategist for the first seven months of president Donald Trump's first ...

, resulting in calls by several Canadian politicians for that debate to be cancelled. A rally outside

Roy Thomson Hall Roy Thomson Hall is a concert hall in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located downtown in the city's entertainment district, it is home to the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, and the esports team Toronto Defiant. Opened ...

over the debate resulted in the arrest of 12 people. The debate was held anyway. The next day, the Munk Debates announced a correction: a "technical error" had led to releasing an inaccurate debate result, wrongly stating that Bannon's arguments had swayed the audience in favor of populism. Actually, there was no net change in audience opinion. In 2019, the debates continued to be "financially underwritten by the Canadian charitable foundation, Aurea."

Cancelled debates

Munk Debates proposed a leaders debate on

foreign policy Foreign policy, also known as external policy, is the set of strategies and actions a State (polity), state employs in its interactions with other states, unions, and international entities. It encompasses a wide range of objectives, includ ...

during the 2019 Canadian election.

Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau (born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who served as the 23rd prime minister of Canada from 2015 to 2025. He led the Liberal Party from 2013 until his resignation in 2025 and was the member of Parliament ...

Andrew Scheer Andrew James Scheer (born May 20, 1979) is a Canadian politician who is the Leader of the Official Opposition (Canada), leader of the Opposition since 2025 and previously from 2017 to 2020 as Leader of the Conservative Party (Canada), leader of ...

Jagmeet Singh Jagmeet Singh Jimmy Dhaliwal (born January 2, 1979) is a Canadian former politician who served as the leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP) from 2017 to 2025 and as the Member of Parliament (Canada), member of Parliament (MP) for Burnaby Sou ...

and

Elizabeth May Elizabeth Evans May (born June 9, 1954) is a Canadian politician, environmentalist, lawyer, activist, and author. She has served as the member of Parliament (MP) for Saanich—Gulf Islands since 2011. May is the leader of the Green Party ...

were invited. Singh, Scheer and May agreed to attend.

Maxime Bernier Maxime Bernier (; born January 18, 1963) is a Canadian politician who is the founder and leader of the People's Party of Canada (PPC). Formerly a member of the Conservative Party of Canada, Conservative Party, Bernier left the caucus in 2018 t ...

was not invited. The debate was cancelled when Trudeau refused to attend. A scheduled November 2024 debate on

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

's upcoming second term as US president had to be cancelled at the last minute when one of the signed debaters, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., was nominated by Trump for the position of

Secretary of Health and Human Services The United States secretary of health and human services is the head of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, and serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all health matters. The secretary is ...

and was told by the administration not to engage in public discussions before his Senate confirmation hearing.

References

{{reflist

External links

Official website
Debates Events in Toronto 2008 establishments in Ontario Recurring events established in 2008