In advance of the debate, Justin Trudeau held a photo-op with one of his sons in a pumpkin patch in nearby Manotick, while Jagmeet Singh was at a bistro near Parliament Hill to outline his party’s priorities were they in need of negotiating in a hung parliament, and conveniently, they were all planks of his party platform. Of those six enumerated, four were wholly or in part provincial jurisdiction, one involves building an entirely new tax system, and the final would drive out competition in the mobile phone sector, and then they also decided that electoral reform should be in there as well. (Look for my column on this coming later today). So there’s that. Andrew Scheer had no events, but his party did say that their full platform will be released today, now that the debates are over.

And then the final French debate, which was a far cry better than the hot, hot mess that was the English debate. Possibly learning from the experience, the format changed up considerably, so that there were better questions, more direct engagement, and far less cross-talk (though that did start to creep in during the second hour, when Scheer was trying to go after Yves-François Blanchet). Scheer and May were noticeably weaker in French, while Scheer and Singh in particular kept up their focus on getting their canned one-liners delivered, even if it was tortured to get them in. Nevertheless, while we once again didn’t learn too many new things, it was a far and above better performance for all involved than the English disaster. (Here’s Paul Wells’ take on the night).

Hmmm… My verdict: pic.twitter.com/bYg53FiTx6

— Dale Smith (@journo_dale) October 11, 2019

Other election stories:

• There are a record number of Indigenous candidates this election, and the AFN has identified 63 ridings where First Nations voters could make a difference in outcome.
• A number of trans voters are concerned that Elections Canada’s files still list them under their old names, which could produce problems at the polls.
• Here is another exploration of that fake scandal that never was yet which consumed the election cycle for days.
• The Star plays out how different post-election governments could act on Indigenous issues, depending on the configuration.
• There has been some open speculation as to successors for Scheer being debated, one of whom is Peter MacKay (Caution: he never actually voted as a Red Tory).
• Here’s a look at the challenge Conservatives face in Quebec as Scheer continues to not connect with voters there.
• A Conservative candidate has apologised for a 2013 letter saying that women should dress modestly to avoid getting raped.
• An NDP incumbent apologised for 2014 comments recorded on tape in which she called voters stupid after she lost the race for mayor of Tecumseh.
• The Star has a lengthy profile of Singh.
• Yves-François Blanchet has apologised for one of his candidate’s racist and Islamophobic posts.
• By contrast, Maxime Bernier won’t do anything about one of his candidates who called Islam “pure evil.”

Good reads:

• Thus far, the election has been “largely clean” when it comes to misinformation and disinformation (which is different from bald-faced lying by parties themselves).
• Here is why economists cringe when politicians start using the term “middle class” (or as I like to say, Middle Class™, because it’s now a branding exercise).
• The IMF has been calculating the impact of carbon pricing as high as $75/tonne on different countries, and Canada would not have as much of an effect with that price.
• New Brunswick’s only private abortion clinic is being forced to close after the province refused to cover costs (leaving federal parties to make hay about it).
• Susan Delacourt speculates as to what some post-election government configurations may look like.

Want more Routine Proceedings? Become a patron and get exclusive new content.