The Commission

The role of Debates Commissioner is being held by the highest-ranking staff member of the Secretariat of the Commission who is authorized, in accordance with OIC 2024-0598, to exercise the powers and perform the duties and functions of the Debates Commissioner in case there is a vacancy in that office.

Michel Cormier has served as the executive director of the Leaders' Debates Commission since 2019. His mandate is to deliver leaders' debates in federal general elections that are accessible and informative and oversee the work of the Commission. As executive director of news and current affairs at Société Radio-Canada from 2012 to 2018, he was responsible for the public broadcaster's election coverage and organization of leaders' debates, both at the federal and provincial levels. Before holding management roles, he was a national political reporter in Ottawa and Quebec City and foreign correspondent from 2000 to 2011. He sits on the boards of Reporters Without Borders and Journalists for Human Rights, has lectured on journalism ethics at Université de Montréal and is the author of five books and a finalist for the Governor-General's literary awards.

Chantal Ouimet has served as a director for the Leaders' Debates Commission since 2021. She is responsible for leading policy development on best practices with various stakeholders, both in Canada and abroad, as well as for operations, communications, and issue management. She brings an international journalism and international affairs background to her role, having worked for Chatham House, CBS News and 60 Minutes in Europe, and the BBC, where she produced debates on global issues and in-depth interviews with world leaders, Nobel Prize winners and leading thinkers for such programs as HARDtalk, The World Debate and 100 Women. She is a graduate of the University of Cambridge and London School of Economics.

Dr. Chad Gaffield is Distinguished University Professor and Professor of History Emeritus at the University of Ottawa. He holds the University Research Chair in Digital Scholarship (2019-2024) and is the CEO of the U15 Canada, an association of 15 leading research universities across Canada. From 2017-2019, he was the President of the Royal Society of Canada and was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2017. An expert on the sociocultural history of 19th- and 20th-century Canada, Mr. Gaffield has been at the forefront of efforts to develop digital technologies that expand, deepen, and facilitate research, teaching and public engagement. He received his BA (Hons) and MA from McGill University and his PhD from the University of Toronto.

Deborah Grey grew up in Vancouver, BC and moved to Alberta where she was a high school English teacher before her election to the House of Commons as the Reform Party's first Member of Parliament in 1989. She served in Ottawa for over 15 years with the Reform Party/Canadian Alliance/Conservative Party of Canada. In 2000, she was Canada's first-ever female Leader of the Opposition. Ms. Grey left public office in 2004, after winning four straight elections. In December 2007, she was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada for Public Service. She has received the Queen Elizabeth II 50th and 60th Jubilee Medals, the Alberta Centennial Medal and an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from Trinity Western University. She travels across Canada as a professional speaker, addressing groups on leadership, balancing work and play, and relationship building and is also involved with many charity events.

Jean La Rose is a First Nations citizen from the Abenaki First Nation of Odanak in Québec. He grew up in Ottawa where he studied Journalism at Algonquin College and obtained his Bachelor of Arts in Social Communication at the Université St. Paul. He has worked for a variety of federal government departments such as Secretary of State (now Canadian Heritage), Treasury Board, Health Canada, External Affairs (now Global Affairs) and a few others. He joined the Assembly of First Nations in 1994 and served three National Chiefs (Ovide Mercredi, Phil Fontaine and Matthew Coon Come) until 2002. He was the Chief Executive Officer of APTN, the first national Indigenous broadcaster in the world, with programming by, for and about Indigenous Peoples from 2002 to 2019. He is now the President & CEO of Dadan Sivunivut, the parent company of Nagamo Music Publishing, AnimikiSee Digital Productions, AnimikiSee Distribution, First Peoples Radio, Red Music Rising and All Nations Network. He serves on a variety of boards, such as Indspire, 'Namgis Business Development Corporation, La Cité Collégiale in Ottawa and others. His focus is on developing opportunities for Indigenous Peoples in Canada that will allow the communities to achieve the full economic potential they have been denied since colonization.

Megan Leslie is President & CEO of World Wildlife Fund-Canada. Since taking on this role, Megan has led WWF-Canada's bold 10-year plan Regenerate Canada, to expand habitats, reduce carbon in the atmosphere, lower industrial impacts and, as a result, reverse wildlife loss and fight climate change. She is also passionate about engaging Canadians to take action for nature. Before assuming the role of President & CEO, Megan was WWF-Canada's Vice-President, Oceans. Prior to that, she was a Member of Parliament representing Halifax for two terms during which she was deputy leader of the Official Opposition, environment critic and vice-chair of the government committee on environment and sustainable development. As a Parliamentarian Megan introduced a motion to ban plastic microbeads which led to a ban on the Canadian manufacture, sale and importation of these products. She also expedited the creation of Sable Island National Park Reserve. Megan is the proud recipient of an Honourary Degree from Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax, is a Senior Policy Fellow at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Toronto, and an ArcticNet board member.

The Honourable John P. Manley is a former Deputy Prime Minister of Canada. He was first elected to Parliament in 1988 and re-elected three times. From 1993 to 2003 he was a Minister in the governments of Jean Chrétien, serving in the portfolios of Industry, Foreign Affairs and Finance, in addition to being Deputy Prime Minister. Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, he was named Chair of a Cabinet Committee on Public Security and Anti-terrorism. After a 16-year career in politics, he returned to the private sector in 2004. Since leaving government, Mr. Manley has continued to be active in public policy, as a media commentator, speaker, and adviser to governments of differing political stripes. He is currently Chair of Jefferies Securities and a Fellow of the CD Howe Institute, the Royal Canadian Geographic Society, and the Institute of Corporate Directors. In the private sector, he served as President and CEO of the Business Council of Canada (from 2010 to 2018) and joined Bennett Jones LLP as Senior Business Adviser in September 2019. Mr. Manley is an Officer of the Order of Canada and recipient of many awards and honours, including honorary doctorates from six Canadian Universities. He graduated from Carleton University and the University of Ottawa and served as law clerk to the Chief Justice of Canada.

Louise Otis is an active judge, arbitrator, and mediator in administrative and commercial matters. She is Adjunct Professor at McGill University, Faculty of Law and a distinguished fellow of the International Academy of Mediators. She is President of the Administrative Tribunal of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and President of the Administrative Tribunal of the Organization Treaty of Atlantic North (NATO). She is also a deputy judge of the Administrative Tribunal of the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT) and member of Internal Justice Council of the United Nations (UN). From 2010-2022, she was President of the Appeals tribunal of the International Organization of the Francophonie (IOF). She regularly participates in international governance and justice reform missions. At the international level, she has been involved in the reform of justice systems in different countries and international organizations.

Abdullah Snobar is the Executive Director of the DMZ and the CEO of DMZ Ventures. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, the DMZ helps start-up founders build, validate, and scale into world-class companies. Under Abdullah's leadership, the incubator has expanded its global impact by establishing partnerships and satellite locations across North America, Latin America, Africa, and Asia. To date, DMZ has helped 820+ startups raise $2,58 billion in capital. Abdullah serves on the Board of Directors for the Rideau Hall Foundation, The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery and is a member of the Forbes Tech Council. He was a former Board Director for the Business Bank of Canada (BDC) and the Ontario Trillium Foundation. He has previously held roles with the Canadian Armed Forces, Fairmont Hotels, and Marriott Hotels & Resorts. Abdullah holds an ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors, and MBA and BComm degrees from Toronto Metropolitan University.