All-candidates debate cancelled in North Island-Powell River riding

Organizers cancelled an all-candidates debate in Campbell River, B.C. with little notice on Tuesday due to planned protest rallies at the venue.

The debate was supposed to feature Conservative candidate Aaron Gunn, Green candidate Jessica Wegg, NDP candidate Tanille Johnston, Liberal candidate Jennifer Lash, People's Party candidate Paul MacKnight and an Independent candidate, Glen Staples.

But an hour and a half before the event at Tidemark Theatre in Campbell River in northern Vancouver Island, the event's organizer — the Campbell River Chamber of Commerce — sent out a media release saying the event was cancelled.

While the chamber has not responded to interview requests from CBC News, candidates told CBC News that they were informed the cancellation was due to safety concerns and planned protests and counter-protests at the venue.

"After careful consultation with local authorities and event organizers, we have concluded that it is impossible to guarantee the event's safety and orderly conduct under these circumstances," reads a statement from event organizers posted on Gunn's Facebook page.

The NDP, Liberal and Green candidates decided to have an impromptu event outside the theatre where they spoke to voters about what matters to them, while the Conservative candidate said he would knock on doors directly.

"Speaking for myself, I hadn't had any safety concerns. We hadn't received any any word that there was going to be anything to be worried about," Wegg told CBC News.

Wegg said the number-one issue in the riding was the issue of affordability and housing, and that debates like Tuesday's were important to ensure there isn't further political polarization in the country.

"We're hearing a lot about fears about what's happening south of the border," Wegg said. "We want that to not happen here."

Lash, the Liberal candidate, called the debate cancellation a "disservice to our community."

She said that she was hoping to use the debate to talk about issues such as salmon farms, specifically the federal government's decision to close the province's open-net salmon farms by 2029. 

"We really let the community down when we didn't put together the right transition package to support the community," she said of the salmon farm decision. "And I'm willing to fight for it."

For his part, Staples told CBC News that his number-one issue was Canada's party and electoral system itself.

While a CBC News reporter in Campbell River observed a small demonstration outside the theatre on Tuesday, with around 20 First Nations Elders gathering in a circle to protest Gunn, she did not see any counter-protesters.