More than 100 Ambassadors, High Commissioners and other members of the diplomatic community joined Carleton faculty and students as a panel of experts helped them interpret the 43rd Canadian federal election.
At the event organized by the Carleton Initiative for Parliamentary and Diplomatic Engagement, David Coletto, CEO Abacus Data, presented some of his latest polling data on the mood of the country, views of the leaders, the top issues, whether people are paying attention and what to watch for in the last two weeks of the campaign.
Coletto joined Toronto Star economics columnist Heather Scoffield, Ottawa bureau chief for La Presse Jöel-Denis Bellavance and Professor Christopher Waddell, former director of the Carleton School of Journalism and Communication and former Ottawa bureau chief for CBC News.
All cautioned that the closeness and stability of the polling numbers made it impossible to predict the election results. Panelists answered questions on regional and suburban-rural splits, key issues including affordability versus climate change, populism in Canadian politics, the role of Canadian media, why electoral campaigns are so different from the U.S., potential foreign influence, and foreign policy.
Dr. Benoit-Antoine Bacon, president and vice-chancellor of Carleton University offered opening remarks and Dr. André Plourde, Dean of the Faculty of Public Affairs offered closing remarks.
See the summary for a fuller description of the discussion.
Please click on the following for:
- Programme
- Powerpoint presentation by David Coletto, CEO Abacus Data
- Discussion summary prepared by Emilie Warren, M.A., Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, Carleton University
- What Diplomats Need to Know about Canadian Elections by Colin Robertson, CGAI vice-president and Maureen Boyd, director of the Carleton Initiative for Parliamentary and Diplomatic Engagement
Photo Gallery – Fangliang Xu
