CREDIT: ZELJKO BOZIC / HEMERA / THINKSTOCK
The Sept. 17 federal election debate had leaders debating about the economy, and although there was no clear winner, NDP's Tom Mulcair used it to undermine Stephen Harper's accomplishment and question exactly what Justin Trudeau has to offer. The next debate is on Sept. 28.

At the dawn of civilization, humans began to realize that there were more effective means of decision-making that didn’t involve the word “bludgeoning”.

Mankind reluctantly began to exchange ideas through verbal communication, which inevitably led to a disagreement. After duelling fell out of favour, there came the need for a public forum in which ideas could be discussed in the hope of winning public approval and that’s how debating came to be.

Political debates have become far more scripted than in decades past, when viewers were treated to 90-minutes of gratuitous yelling. In addition to being fun to watch, the format was more conducive to debates, which resulted in clear winners.

More recently, scripting and preparation have given candidates a plethora of default responses and it’s rare to see any of them at a loss for words.

The most recent debate focused on an enticing element of politics: the economy. Incumbent Prime Minister Stephen Harper has highlighted his party’s economic track record as a favourable indicator of his ability to lead the country, while his opponents blame him for the current recession.

The Rebel’s Brian Lilley aptly summed up the modern debate format when he said, shortly after the Maclean’s debate, that whoever you supported going into the debate is likely the candidate you thought was the winner. If you’re inclined to seek out the debate footage, all of the leader’s debates can be found on YouTube.

In addition to poll figures, the debates have served to establish Tom Mulcair’s New Democratic Party (NDP) as the biggest threat to the Harper government. Mulcair has used the debates to undermine the Prime Minister’s accomplishments while simultaneously questioning what Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau has to offer.

The main hurdle facing the NDP is convincing the Canadian public that their party is capable of forming a cohesive, competent government.

It’s a difficult task made even harder by a recent interview the Huffington Post conducted with former parliamentary budget officer Kevin Page, in which he called the NDP’s budget “a Swiss-cheese fiscal costing platform”.

The plunge in the price of crude oil earlier this year was a sombre reminder that any economic plan can fall victim to circumstances beyond the government’s control. The Conservative Party was unfortunate enough to be in the driver’s seat when it happened.

The next leaders debate is on Sept. 28 and is being hosted by Munk Debates, an organization that hosts semi-annual debates in Toronto’s Roy Thomson Hall.

The subject of the debate will be foreign policy; a topic that will undoubtedly yield heated discussion in light of the ongoing Syrian refugee crisis.

Harper has been severely criticized for his approach to the issue, most notably by former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, and his fellow candidates will undoubtedly use that as a launching point for their attacks.

For anyone who isn’t interested in watching the full debates, there’s no shortage of analysis available after the fact. The leader’s talking points and notable statements are aggregated and made available in both print and video formats.

When all is said and done however, many of the debates will appeal to a wider audience if they incorporated some good old-fashioned bludgeoning.
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