Departmental Results Report 2019-20
The Honourable Dominic Leblanc
President of the Queen's Privy Council
for Canada and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs
The Right Honourable David Johnston
Debates Commissioner
© Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada (2021)
All rights reserved
All requests for permission to reproduce this document or any part thereof shall be addressed to the Leaders’ Debates Commission.
Cette publication est également disponible en français :
Rapport sur les résultats ministériels 2019-2020
Catalogue Number: CP1-31E-PDF
ISSN 2562-4962
Table of contents
- Debates Commissioner's message
- Results at a glance and operating context
- Results: what we achieved
- Analysis of trends in spending and human resources
- Additional information
- Appendix: definitions
- Endnotes
Debates Commissioner's message
The Leaders' Debates Commission was created in the lead up to the 2019 election. Our mandate was two-fold:
- Ensure that two high quality and informative debates were made accessible to Canadians from coast to coast to coast; and
- Assess whether Canadians are well served by a Commission responsible for their delivery and advise on how debates can be more effective.
The Commission's 2019-20 Departmental Results Report, which follows, describes how, with the support of our partners, we have been able to fulfil this mandate.
You will find that we delivered two debates that reached and engaged Canadians like never before. More than half of the electorate tuned in to watch one of the two leaders' debates in the 2019 federal election. In our report to Parliament, we also outlined a series of recommendations to inform the potential creation of a permanent Leaders' Debates Commission.
I have been privileged to serve as Debates Commissioner for the 2019 Leaders' Debates Commission, and I pay tribute to an extraordinary staff and advisory board as well as a wide range of operating partners and stakeholders carrying out this pilot project.
These debates counted; they were key moments that helped Canadians cast informed votes. Not only do debates count, they are a pivotal moment in an election campaign. They need to happen in every election, and they need to ensure that the public interest is paramount. They help us understand that democracy matters.
David Johnston
Debates Commissioner
Results at a glance and operating context
Debates play an essential role in Canada's democracy as one of the most important events in electoral campaigns. They provide a unique opportunity for voters to observe, together on the same stage, the character, temperament, and unscripted approaches of leaders seeking to be Canada's Prime Minister.
The Leaders' Debates Commission (Commission) organized two leaders' debates for the 2019 federal general election (one in each official language). The Commission also prepared a report to Parliament, following the 2019 debates, outlining findings, lessons learned, and recommendations.
In 2019–20, to accomplish its mandate and translate its aspiration into meaningful and measurable actions, the Commission focused on the following three key objectives:
Standing up the Leaders' Debates Commission
- Selected and established a seven-member Advisory Board to the Debates Commissioner, and hired employees to manage and implement Commission deliverables.
- Engaged major political parties, media, and civil society organizations to ensure a healthy, symbiotic, and stable relationship, and entered into contract for the production of the debates.
Promoting awareness of and access to the leaders' debates
- Launched the Commission's website and created over 50 communications products (videos, infographics, press releases etc.).
- Consulted with close to 40 subject-matter experts on issues such as accessibility, inclusivity, civic engagement, debate format and journalistic standards.
- Facilitated the hosting of debate viewing experiences with 25 Cineplex theatres across the country, the Halifax Public Library, and the McNally-Robinson Bookstore in Saskatoon.
Preparing reports and analysis for decision-making
- Produced a final report, drawing on survey responses, interviews, and research on international debates organization, carried out in consultation with academic partners. The Commission's report offers 10 recommendations, one of which is the establishment of a permanent, publicly-funded entity to organize leaders' debates.
Actual net spending: $3,732,869
Actual full-time equivalents: 5
For more information on the Commission's plans, priorities and results achieved, see the "Results: what we achieved" section of this report.
Results: what we achieved
Organize Leaders' Debates for federal general elections
Description:
The Commission is mandated to organize two leaders' debates for the federal general election – one in each official language. In order to execute its core responsibility, the Commission applies mandated criteria to confirm the participation of eligible party leaders in leaders' debates during general election periods, issues a call for proposals for debate production, that seeks to ensure that Canadians have access to these broadcasts, and communicate with Canadians to raise awareness of when, where and how debates can be accessed.
To that end, the Commission works to make the debates a more predictable, reliable, and stable element of federal election campaigns. The desired result is an open and transparent organization of leaders' debates that reaches a broad cross-section of Canadians.
Results:
Throughout 2019–20, the Commission focused its energies and resources to organize effective, informative, and compelling debates that are accessible to as many Canadians as possible. The Commission pursued and achieved this goal by:
Ensuring the leaders' debates are available to all Canadians
The English-language and French-language debates were available live on 15 television networks, three national radio networks, and 24 digital platforms. This is unprecedented. The debates were provided in four accessible formats and 12 languages, including Indigenous languages. Fewer than 10% of non-viewers indicated that their main reason for not watching the debates was because they were not able to access them.
Ensuring the leaders' debates are effective, informative, and compelling
Evidence indicates the Commission's debates served as a focal point for the 2019 election campaign, drawing substantially more viewers than debates in previous campaigns. Over 14 million Canadians tuned in to the English-language debate and over 5 million watched the French-language debate. These numbers are large, both in comparison to international and previous Canadian election debates.
Viewership is one way to measure success, but there are other ways to measure if debates are effective, informative, and compelling. The debates had an impact on social media; Twitter activity related to Canadian politics reached its peak for the entire campaign the day following the English-language debate.
Furthermore, citizens said the debates made a difference; an IPSOS poll indicated that 56% of Canadians said the leaders' debates were important for their vote.
Maintaining the highest standards for the leaders' debates
To ensure that the leaders' debates would be of high quality, the Commission engaged a variety of stakeholders, conducted research, and hosted workshops on the future of debates in Canada. Additionally, the Commission consulted with close to 40 subject-matter experts on issues such as accessibility, inclusion, civic engagement, debate format and journalistic standards.
The Commission also appeared before The House of Commons' Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, and consulted with political parties and over 40 stakeholders with backgrounds in democratic participation, debates, and the media.
Ensuring the leaders' debates are organized to serve the public interest
Mindful of the importance of high journalistic standards and independence, the Commission selected the debates producer through a Request for Proposal (RFP).
The RFP reflected the values permeated in the Commission's mandate: inclusiveness, democratic education, high journalistic standards, cost effectiveness, organizational experience, and accessibility especially for people with disabilities, people living in official language minority communities, and residents of remote regions.
Post-debate consultations showed there is widespread agreement that an independent and impartial Commission should play an important role in ensuring the public interest is given full consideration in debate organization.
Experimentation
The Government specified that the Commission's report would inform whether and how a publicly-funded entity would continue to organize leaders' debates.
This phased approach recognized that, in looking around the world, Canada's Commission is, indeed, a rare experiment. Few democracies have election debates that are organized by a public entity solely dedicated to this purpose. Countries such as the United Kingdom and Australia have been attentive to Canada's 2019 experience for potential application in their jurisdictions.
Results achieved
| Departmental results | Performance indicators | Target | Date to achieve target | 2017–18 Actual results |
2018–19 Actual results | 2019–20 Actual results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canadians are aware of and have access to debates organized by the Leaders' Debates Commission | Number of Canadians who have access to debates organized by the Leaders' Debates Commission. | The proportion of Canadians having access to debates organized by the Leaders' Debates Commission exceeds comparable figures from the previous election. | March 2020 | N/A | N/A | English debate: 35,334,0001 French debate: 35,334,0001 |
| Number of Canadians who view debates organized by the Leaders' Debates Commission | The proportion of Canadians viewing the debates organized by the Leaders' Debates Commission exceeds comparable figures from the previous election. | March 2020 | N/A | N/A | English debate: 14,129,000 French debate: 5,023,435 |
Notes:
1. This figure has been calculated using Statistics Canada data from its 2019 Canadian Internet Use Survey, which indicated that 94% of Canadians had home Internet access, as well as 2019 population figures from Statistics Canada. Both the English and French debates were available on the Internet.
Budgetary financial resources (dollars)
| 2019–20 Main Estimates |
2019–20 Planned spending |
2019–20 Total authorities available for use |
2019–20 Actual spending (authorities used) |
2019–20 Difference (Actual spending minus Planned spending) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4,629,699 | 4,629,699 | 4,617,308 | 3,732,869 | (896,830) |
Human resources (full-time equivalents)
| 2019–20 Planned full-time equivalents |
2019–20 Actual full-time equivalents |
2019–20 Difference (Actual full-time equivalents minus Planned full-time equivalents) |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | 5 | (1) |
Financial, human resources and performance information for the Commission's Program Inventory will be made available in GC InfoBaseFootnote i in the coming year.
Internal Services
Description
Internal Services are those groups of related activities and resources that the federal government considers to be services in support of programs and/or required to meet corporate obligations of an organization. Internal Services refers to the activities and resources of the 10 distinct service categories that support Program delivery in the organization, regardless of the Internal Services delivery model in a department. The 10 service categories are:
- Acquisition Management Services
- Communication Services
- Financial Management Services
- Human Resources Management Services
- Information Management Services
- Information Technology Services
- Legal Services
- Material Management Services
- Management and Oversight Services
- Real Property Management Services
Internal Services functions were provided to the Commission by the Privy Council Office (PCO) through a Memorandum of Understanding between the two parties covering the 2019-20 fiscal year.
Budgetary financial resources (dollars)
| 2019–20 Main Estimates |
2019–20 Planned spending |
2019–20 Total authorities available for use |
2019–20 Actual spending (authorities used) |
2019–20 Difference (Actual spending minus Planned spending) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Human resources (full-time equivalents)
| 2019–20 Planned full-time equivalents |
2019–20 Actual full-time equivalents |
2019–20 Difference (Actual full-time equivalents minus Planned full-time equivalents) |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0 | 0 |
Analysis of trends in spending and human resources
Actual expenditures
Departmental spending trend graph
The following graph presents planned (voted and statutory spending) over time.
Text description
| 2017–18 | 2018–19 | 2019–20 | 2020–21 | 2021–22 | 2022-23 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunset Programs - Anticipated | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Statutory | 0 | 14,546 | 96,533 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Voted | 0 | 127,247 | 3,636,336 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 0 | 141,793 | 3,732,869 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Budgetary performance summary for Core Responsibilities and Internal Services (dollars)
| Core responsibilities and Internal Services | 2019–20 Main Estimates |
2019–20 Planned spending |
2020–21 Planned spending |
2021–22 Planned spending |
2019–20 Total authorities available for use |
2017–18 Actual spending (authorities used) | 2018–19 Actual spending (authorities used) | 2019–20 Actual spending (authorities used) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Organize Leaders' Debates for federal general elections | 4,629,699 | 4,629,699 | 0 | 0 | 4,617,308 | 0 | 141,793 | 3,732,869 |
| Subtotal | 4,629,699 | 4,629,699 | 0 | 0 | 4,617,308 | 0 | 141,793 | 3,732,869 |
| Internal Services | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 4,629,699 | 4,629,699 | 0 | 0 | 4,617,308 | 0 | 141,793 | 3,732,869 |
2019–20 Budgetary actual gross spending summary (dollars)
| Core responsibilities and Internal Services | 2019–20 Actual gross spending |
2019–20 Actual gross spending for specified purpose accounts |
2019–20 Actual revenues netted against expenditures |
2019–20 Actual net spending (authorities used) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Organize Leaders' Debates for federal general elections | 3,732,869 | 0 | 0 | 3,732,869 |
| Subtotal | 3,732,869 | 0 | 0 | 3,732,869 |
| Internal Services | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 3,732,869 | 0 | 0 | 3,732,869 |
Actual human resources
Human resources summary for core responsibilities and Internal Services
| Core responsibilities and Internal Services | 2017–18 Actual full-time equivalents | 2018–19 Actual full-time equivalents | 2019–20 Planned full-time equivalents |
2019–20 Actual full-time equivalents | 2020–21 Planned full-time equivalents | 2021–22 Planned full-time equivalents |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Organize Leaders' Debates for federal general elections | 0 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Subtotal | 0 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Internal Services | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 0 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
Expenditures by vote
For information on the Commission's organizational voted and statutory expenditures, consult the Public Accounts of Canada 2019–2020.Footnote ii
Government of Canada spending and activities
Information on the alignment of the Commission's spending with the Government of Canada's spending and activities is available in GC InfoBase.Footnote iii
Financial statements and financial statements highlights
Financial statements
The Commission's financial statements (unaudited) for the year ended March 31, 2019, are available on the Commission's website.
Financial statement highlights
Condensed Statement of Operations (unaudited) for the year ended March 31, 2020 (dollars)
| Financial information | 2019–20 Planned results |
2019–20 Actual results |
2018–19 Actual results |
Difference (2019–20 Actual results minus 2019–20 Planned results) |
Difference (2019–20 Actual results minus 2018–19 Actual results) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total expenses | 4,849,613 | 3,772,428 | 162,925 | (1,077,185) | 3,609,503 |
| Total revenues | - | - | - | - | - |
| Net cost of operations before government funding and transfers | 4,849,613 | 3,772,428 | 162,925 | (1,077,185) | 3,609,503 |
Difference between 2018–19 actual results and 2019–20 actual results:
The Commission's actual net cost of operations before government funding and transfer for 2019–20, as compared to 2018–19 increased by $3,609,503 as a result of the standing up of the Commission for the organization of the two debates in October 2019.
Difference between 2019–20 actual results and 2019–20 planned results:
The Commission's actual net cost of operations from continuing activities was $1,077,185 lower than the planned results for the fiscal year, which was primarily the result of the Commission being a relatively new entity, having completed its first full mandate in 2018-19 and 2019-20. The Commission had limited baseline expenditure information and actual spending trends to inform its 2019-20 planned spending.
Condensed Statement of Financial Position (unaudited) as of March 31, 2020 (dollars)
| Financial information | 2019–20 | 2018–19 | Difference (2019–20 minus 2018–19) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total net liabilities | 604,127 | 29,841 | 574,286 |
| Total net financial assets | 614,673 | 17,691 | 596,982 |
| Departmental net debt | (10,546) | 12,150 | (22,696) |
| Total non-financial assets | - | - | - |
| Departmental net financial position | 10,546 | (12,150) | 22,696 |
In 2019–20, the Commission's net liabilities increased by $574,286. This increase is primarily attributable to an increase in the Commission's activities, resulting in an increase in accounts payables and in accrued salaries and wages.
Total net financial and non-financial assets were $10,546, an increase of $22,696 from 2018–19. This variance is attributable to a decrease in amounts due from the Consolidated Revenue Fund, which represents authorities available to discharge remaining accounts payable and accrued liabilities.
Additional information
Organizational profile
Appropriate minister: The Honourable Dominic LeBlanc
Institutional head: David Johnston, Debates Commissioner
Ministerial portfolio: President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs
Enabling instrument: Order in Council P.C. 2018-1322
Year of incorporation / commencement: 2018
Raison d'être, mandate and role: who we are and what we do
"Raison d'être, mandate and role: who we are and what we do" is available on the Leaders' Debates Commission's website.
Reporting framework
The Commission's Departmental Results Framework and Program Inventory of record for 2019–20 are shown below.
Text description
Departmental Results Framework |
Core Responsibility: Organize Leaders' Debates for federal general elections | Internal Services | |
Departmental Result: Canadians are aware of and have access to debates organized by the Leaders' Debates Commission |
Indicator: Number of Canadians who have access to debates organized by the Leaders' Debates Commission. | ||
| Indicator: Number of Canadians who view debates organized by the Leaders' Debates Commission | |||
| Program Inventory | Program: Leaders' Debates | ||
Supporting information on the program inventory
Financial, human resources and performance information for the Commission's Program Inventory will be available in GC InfoBaseFootnote iv in the coming year.
Supplementary information tables
The following supplementary information tables are available on the Commission's website:
- Gender-based analysis plus
Federal tax expenditures
The tax system can be used to achieve public policy objectives through the application of special measures such as low tax rates, exemptions, deductions, deferrals and credits. The Department of Finance Canada publishes cost estimates and projections for these measures each year in the Report on Federal Tax Expenditures.Footnote v This report also provides detailed background information on tax expenditures, including descriptions, objectives, historical information and references to related federal spending programs. The tax measures presented in this report are the responsibility of the Minister of Finance.
Organizational contact information
Mailing address
Leaders' Debates Commission
155 Queen Street
3rd floor – Suite 301
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A3
E-Mail: info@debates-debats.ca
Website: www.debates-debats.ca
Appendix: definitions
appropriation (crédit)
Any authority of Parliament to pay money out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.
budgetary expenditures (dépenses budgétaires)
Operating and capital expenditures; transfer payments to other levels of government, organizations or individuals; and payments to Crown corporations.
core responsibility (responsabilité essentielle)
An enduring function or role performed by a department. The intentions of the department with respect to a core responsibility are reflected in one or more related departmental results that the department seeks to contribute to or influence.
Departmental Plan (plan ministériel)
A report on the plans and expected performance of an appropriated department over a 3‑year period. Departmental Plans are usually tabled in Parliament each spring.
departmental priority (priorité)
A plan or project that a department has chosen to focus and report on during the planning period. Priorities represent the things that are most important or what must be done first to support the achievement of the desired departmental results.
departmental result (résultat ministériel)
A consequence or outcome that a department seeks to achieve. A departmental result is often outside departments' immediate control, but it should be influenced by program-level outcomes.
departmental result indicator (indicateur de résultat ministériel)
A quantitative measure of progress on a departmental result.
departmental results framework (cadre ministériel des résultats)
A framework that connects the department's core responsibilities to its departmental results and departmental result indicators.
Departmental Results Report (rapport sur les résultats ministériels)
A report on a department's actual accomplishments against the plans, priorities and expected results set out in the corresponding Departmental Plan.
experimentation (expérimentation)
The conducting of activities that seek to first explore, then test and compare the effects and impacts of policies and interventions in order to inform evidence-based decision-making, and improve outcomes for Canadians, by learning what works, for whom and in what circumstances. Experimentation is related to, but distinct from innovation (the trying of new things), because it involves a rigorous comparison of results. For example, using a new website to communicate with Canadians can be an innovation; systematically testing the new website against existing outreach tools or an old website to see which one leads to more engagement, is experimentation.
full‑time equivalent (équivalent temps plein)
A measure of the extent to which an employee represents a full person‑year charge against a departmental budget. For a particular position, the full‑time equivalent figure is the ratio of number of hours the person actually works divided by the standard number of hours set out in the person's collective agreement.
gender-based analysis plus (GBA+) (analyse comparative entre les sexes plus [ACS+])
An analytical process used to assess how diverse groups of women, men and gender-diverse people experience policies, programs and services based on multiple factors including race ethnicity, religion, age, and mental or physical disability.
government-wide priorities (priorités pangouvernementales)
For the purpose of the 2019–20 Departmental Results Report, those high-level themes outlining the government's agenda in the 2019 Speech from the Throne, namely: Fighting climate change; Strengthening the Middle Class; Walking the road of reconciliation; Keeping Canadians safe and healthy; and Positioning Canada for success in an uncertain world.
horizontal initiative (initiative horizontale)
An initiative where two or more federal organizations are given funding to pursue a shared outcome, often linked to a government priority.
non‑budgetary expenditures (dépenses non budgétaires)
Net outlays and receipts related to loans, investments and advances, which change the composition of the financial assets of the Government of Canada.
performance (rendement)
What an organization did with its resources to achieve its results, how well those results compare to what the organization intended to achieve, and how well lessons learned have been identified.
performance indicator (indicateur de rendement)
A qualitative or quantitative means of measuring an output or outcome, with the intention of gauging the performance of an organization, program, policy or initiative respecting expected results.
performance reporting (production de rapports sur le rendement)
The process of communicating evidence‑based performance information. Performance reporting supports decision making, accountability and transparency.
plan (plan)
The articulation of strategic choices, which provides information on how an organization intends to achieve its priorities and associated results. Generally, a plan will explain the logic behind the strategies chosen and tend to focus on actions that lead to the expected result.
planned spending (dépenses prévues)
For Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports, planned spending refers to those amounts presented in Main Estimates.
A department is expected to be aware of the authorities that it has sought and received. The determination of planned spending is a departmental responsibility, and departments must be able to defend the expenditure and accrual numbers presented in their Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports.
program (programme)
Individual or groups of services, activities or combinations thereof that are managed together within the department and focus on a specific set of outputs, outcomes or service levels.
program inventory (répertoire des programmes)
Identifies all the department's programs and describes how resources are organized to contribute to the department's core responsibilities and results.
result (résultat)
A consequence attributed, in part, to an organization, policy, program or initiative. Results are not within the control of a single organization, policy, program or initiative; instead they are within the area of the organization's influence.
statutory expenditures (dépenses législatives)
Expenditures that Parliament has approved through legislation other than appropriation acts. The legislation sets out the purpose of the expenditures and the terms and conditions under which they may be made.
target (cible)
A measurable performance or success level that an organization, program or initiative plans to achieve within a specified time period. Targets can be either quantitative or qualitative.
voted expenditures (dépenses votées)
Expenditures that Parliament approves annually through an appropriation act. The vote wording becomes the governing conditions under which these expenditures may be made.