Federal party leaders simulate debates in rehearsals for head-to-head battles
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OTTAWA — Party leaders will have spent weeks simulating debates in preparation for what might prove their biggest challenge yet in the election campaign.
According to senior figures who have prepared party leaders for previous debates, leaders enlist party staff to play their political opponents in mock contests precisely simulating the debate environment.
The Canadian Press spoke to a number of former staff who helped prepare leaders in previous elections, including Dan Nowlan, who played Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau in mock debates to prepare Tory leaders, including Stephen Harper.
He says staff are instructed to closely study opponents’ performances in interviews and previous debates, and to bombard party leaders with difficult questions from a podium.
