Skip to content

Media Accreditation for the 44th General Election

The Leaders' Debates Commission is mandated by its constituting Order in Council to organize two leaders' debates for the next federal general election, one in each official language.

Media representatives wishing to have access to the debates organized by the Commission must apply to be accredited by the Commission.

Principles

The Commission believes debates are more than media or campaign events; they are a public trust. Debates play an essential role in the health of Canada's democracy by informing the electorate about the leaders of political parties who have the greatest likelihood of becoming Prime Minister or those likely to play an important part in public policymaking by winning seats in the House of Commons.

Political debates represent a unique space where citizens can hear from party leaders in real time and in an unmediated, unfiltered, and undistorted way. The Commission is mandated to protect the public interest in the debates. A key component of the integrity and independence of the debates resides in the professionalism of the journalists involved. The importance of this component is evident in the Commission's mandate to "ensure that high journalistic standards are maintained for the leaders' debates."

Public confidence in the debates is further bolstered by the fact that journalists, not political parties nor the Commission, have full independence in deciding the themes for the debates and the questions to be asked to the leaders. This principle was affirmed by the Commission in its report to the Government on the 2019 leaders' debates, in which the Commission wrote "that the journalistic independence of the media participants be ensured" at the debates.

The two debates the Commission is mandated to organize represent a rare opportunity for the ideas of the party leaders to be tested, by each other and by professional journalists. The Commission is committed to creating and maintaining a credible, informational, fair and transparent process that helps citizens make informed decisions on Election Day.

In order to protect the integrity of the debates, the principles of high journalistic standards and journalist independence must extend to the press availabilities of the leaders held immediately after the debates when each leader takes questions from journalists. These press availabilities are broadcast live to millions of viewers and, as such, are a natural extension of the debates and an integral part of the press coverage of the events. Consequently, the Commission believes it is reasonable to expect that the journalists accredited to the debates and the press availabilities, both in a physical or virtual environment, adhere to the standards of professional journalism.

The overarching objective behind this media accreditation process is to ensure "high journalistic standards." The Commission considers that high journalistic standards means that journalists adhere to and observe the principles of responsible and ethical journalism.

In particular, the Commission has interpreted high journalistic standards to mean that journalists should not have a conflict of interest in the story that they are covering. As such, the absence of a conflict of interest is the principal criteria the Commission will use to evaluate applications for accreditation.

The Commission has reviewed the Canadian Association of Journalists ("CAJ") guidelines on conflict of interest and it has decided that these guidelines meet the high journalistic standards that the Commission is mandated to uphold. The Commission will therefore rely upon these guidelines in evaluating applicants. The Commission has chosen to use the CAJ guidelines because the CAJ "is an independent, not-for-profit organization that provides advocacy and professional development for journalists across Canada." The CAJ exists to promote "excellence in journalism." The CAJ guidelines are widely accepted and adopted by journalists throughout Canada.

The Commission recognizes that media organizations, columnists or commentators may have an editorial point of view or endorse political candidates or political causes. However, a conflict of interest arises when the media organization or journalist becomes an active participant in the story that they are covering.

According to the CAJ, there is a conflict of interest:

  • when an organization:
    • becomes an actor in the stories it tells, including providing and applying financial and legal assistance to some of its sources to work toward a desired outcome or offering free legal services, crowdfunds to help some individuals in stories hire lawyers, purchases political advertising and launches petitions;Footnote 1 or
  • when a reporter:
    • writes opinion pieces about subjects they also cover as journalists, endorses political candidates or causes, takes part in demonstrations, signs petitions, does public relations work, fundraises and makes financial contributions.Footnote 2

Process for media accreditation: General Criteria

In 2019, the Commission saw unprecedented media interest in the debates it organized. While there are space constraints on the number of media representatives it can accredit, the Commission will endeavor to accommodate as many requests as possible. In addition, the Commission will comply with the COVID-19 public-health measures in place at the time of the two leaders' debates. These protocols may have an impact on the number of media representatives that the Commission can accredit.

Media representatives seeking to be accredited will have to apply under one of the three options described below.

All of the options listed below have the same objective: to identify and accredit journalists who meet the principles of responsible and ethical journalism, and the "high journalistic standards" set out in the Commission's mandate, and whose reporting is absent of conflict of interest.

All media representatives must indicate whether they are wishing to attend the French language, English language or both debates in their application to the Commission.

They must also indicate whether they are wishing to be on-site or attend virtually.

Please note: On-site capacity may be limited due to COVID-19 public health measures.

Option 1:

Any media representative who is a member of the Canadian Parliamentary Press Gallery will automatically be eligible for accreditation.

Upon review of the Canadian Parliamentary Press Gallery's membership requirements, the Commission has determined that it will accredit members of the Canadian Parliamentary Press Gallery. This is because they cover Canadian politics as a regular part of their activity and the Canadian Parliamentary Press Gallery has published a white paper, which recognizes the principles of responsible and ethical journalism, including the absence of conflict of interest as defined by the CAJ and other journalism and professional media organizations.

Supporting documentation and information

Applicants under Option 1 must provide the following:

  • A statement that they are a member of the Canadian Parliamentary Press Gallery; and
  • A passport size photo (JPEG format).

The Commission will verify that the applicant is a member of the Canadian Parliamentary Press Gallery by checking the publicly available list of members.

Option 2:

Any media representative that is a member of one of the following four professional media organizations will automatically be eligible for accreditation:

  • Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ) (active (journalist) membership only);
  • National NewsMedia Council (NNC);
  • Conseil de presse du Québec (CPQ); and
  • Fédération professionnelle des journalistes du Québec (FPJQ).

Upon review of these bodies' membership requirements, the Commission has determined that these organizations represent a cross-section of professional bodies that contend with the responsible and ethical practice of journalism. The CAJ and FPJQ represent the interests of individual journalists while the NMC and the CPQ are bodies that rule on complaints from the public.

The NMC, CPQ and FPJQ have guidelines for membership that contain principles of responsible and ethical journalism or have adopted the CAJ guidelines. These guidelines and principles are consistent with the standards of professional journalism, including the absence of conflict of interest as defined by the CAJ. The Commission will therefore rely upon the membership of these organizations as a means to accredit prospective applicants.

The Commission will obtain the membership list from each organization listed above and verify that the applicant is a member.

Supporting documentation and information

Applicants under Option 2 must provide the following:

  • A statement that they are a member of one of the four professional media organizations listed above; and
  • A passport size photo (JPEG format).

Option 3:

Any media representative that is not a member of the Canadian Parliamentary Press Gallery or one of the four professional media organizations listed under Option 2, may apply for accreditation under Option 3.

This option is also available to foreign media representatives seeking accreditation at the debates.

Consistent with the overarching objective behind this media accreditation process, the Commission will consider whether the applicant upholds the high journalistic standards set out above, including an absence of conflict of interest in their reporting.

Supporting documentation and information

Canadian media representatives applying under Option 3 must provide all of the following:

  • A letter of assignment, identifying that the applicant is assigned to the leaders' debates, that is signed and dated by their assignment editor/authorized editor/publisher (PDF format). This letter should include information on reach and audience (print circulation, radio/television audience, digital audience/website traffic/social media/website subscribers); and
  • Media organization website link, identifying that they contribute or belong to a media organization that either produces original news content related to coverage of Canadian/international political news or covers political, social and policy issues, and whose content is updated each week;
  • Six recent news articles/reports within the last six months under their byline, identifying that journalism is their regular activity; and
  • A passport size photo (JPEG format).

The Commission will review the above information and the regular activities of the applicant to ensure that the reporting is absent of conflict of interest. The Commission may also review and rely upon the reporting and content available in the public domain produced by the applicant to determine whether the applicant practices professional journalism that is free of conflict of interest.

Foreign media representatives applying under Option 3 must provide all of the following:

  • A letter of assignment, identifying that the applicant is assigned to the leaders' debates, that is signed and dated by their assignment editor/authorized editor/publisher (PDF format). This letter should include information on reach and audience (print circulation, radio/television audience, digital audience/website traffic/social media/website subscribers); and
  • A scanned copy of a valid international press card provided by a recognized national professional body or a passport size photo (JPEG format).

The Commission will also consider whether foreign media representatives applying for accreditation are assigned by media organizations with a correspondent in Canada or are assigned by widely recognized media organizations in their country of origin.

Timeline

The Commission is opening the media accreditation process the day after the 44th General Election is called.

Media representatives will have 10 days to apply.

The Commission will make every effort to respond as soon as possible to media accreditation applications. All communications, including the decisions on accreditation, will be conducted in writing via email.

Applications

All applications along with the supporting documentation and information must be submitted to:

mediaaccreditation@debates-debats.ca

For questions related to media accreditation, contact mediaaccreditation@debates-debats.ca

Date modified: August 16, 2021