Conventional political wisdom has it that no previously elected official who feels they are in the lead should agree to debate.
That’s cold comfort for those in Mount Royal riding who were thirsting for a meaty exchange between candidates in the run-up to the April 28 federal election—especially when the lack of a debate has become a story in itself.
For years, B’nai Brith Canada has staged meaningful dialogues between leading candidates addressing the important issues facing its own supporters, but this year the organization is skipping the second-most-Jewish riding in Canada, and arguably the one with the most significant showdown between two Jewish candidates..
Two such virtual events are scheduled in Toronto, featuring candidates from the Eglinton-Lawrence and York Centre ridings, both of which have heated contests between Liberals and Conservatives. (The main candidates in York Centre are also both Jewish.)
As the federal election campaign intensifies,@YaaraSaks and @Roman_Baber are set to face off in a live virtual debate hosted by B’nai Brith Canada — and you’re invited to watch it in real-time.
— B'nai Brith Canada (@bnaibrithcanada) March 28, 2025
These candidates want your vote, but first, they need to answer the tough… pic.twitter.com/pMeM3aBJ4P
But there’s even more heat in the riding where Liberal incumbent Anthony Housefather, a career politician approaching a full decade in Ottawa—which recently culminated in Justin Trudeau naming him a national advisor on issues related to antisemitism and the Jewish community—is being challenged by Conservative newcomer Neil Oberman, a seasoned litigator.
Opportunities for the two men to face off now seem unlikely—but their supporters and surrogates are not shying away from accusing each other of spreading falsehoods over the debate issue.
B’nai Brith posted a statement on social media in late March, affirming that they were set to organize a Mount Royal debate, and that “while the Conservative candidate agreed to participate, the Liberal candidate was unable to attend due to scheduling conflicts.”
The CJN asked Housefather why he wouldn’t agree to the B’nai Brith debate, especially when the Jewish community across Canada and many in the riding are facing serious issues, and have been arguing about the lack of a debate.
“The only people who are arguing about it are my opponent’s supporters,” he said, adding “B’nai Brith has no post up, and I’d rather not discuss it. What I will say is, every request for anything, for me to be somewhere is considered on its merits. And right now, I know of only one riding in the country where there’s a debate, that B’nai Brith is holding. So I’ll watch that with interest.”
(York Centre’s showdown on April 15 was agreed to some time ago; the Eglinton-Lawrence face-off on April 9 was added after Housefather made his comment.)
B’nai Brith’s posting disappeared as fast as it emerged on March 28. Asked by The CJN to confirm if efforts were made to bring the two candidates together for a debate in the community to begin with, given there is now no public statement, regional director Hank Topas replied: “We thank you but have no comment at this time.”
Nor would B’nai Brith respond to a request to confirm if the post explaining that no debate was going forward—screenshots of which have circulated widely on social media—was real, fabricated, or simply published in error.
“They reached out to me and asked if I was prepared to participate, yes or no” said Oberman. “I said ‘yes,’ I provided 13 dates because it’s an important issue. While I’m very busy I’m never too busy to help people be informed of their rights and what the issues are in the riding. I could have adjusted some calendar dates if they needed it but then I was informed that my opponent was not interested in debating.
“Actually,” he added, “my recollection is that they said that none of the dates met his scheduling criteria, therefore there would be no debate.”
Oberman said he’s not fixated on why Housefather will not debate him publicly, or why B’nai Brith may have removed public statements saying that Housefather could not schedule time. “Listen, if my opponent is not interested in having a discourse about the issues relevant to the riding, then I’m not going to waste my time. I’ll continue to do what I am doing and get out and talk to people directly.”
Mount Royal resident Tommy Shnurmacher, a veteran Montreal writer and broadcaster, says people should be more outraged at B’nai Brith than either of the candidates. “Why did they accept that? In other words, this candidate says ‘No’ and it’s ‘oh well, we won’t have a debate’? I think it is disgusting that B’nai B’rith is not commenting on that, why they gave one candidate the veto. If they’d given him just one date and he couldn’t make it, some family event, okay, but 13 different days? They should have had the event with a chair or a podium with the word Liberal on it.
“There are other candidates. There’s the NDP, the Green, the Communist, whoever they’ve got, because people in the riding have a right to listen to them.”
Why does @bnaibrithcanada allow @AHousefather to veto a debate in Mt. Royal riding? Simple. Just have the debate without him. Our MP turned down 13 different dates to debate @NeilOberman and the other candidates. 13! I'll keep that in mind next time BB has a fundraiser.
— schnurmacher (@talkradiotommy) April 4, 2025
Shnurmacher says this election “is radically different from every other election, because the Jewish people have not been in this level of crisis before in Canada for decades. It’s an existential situation for Jews in Montreal and the riding, and the Liberal government did nothing other than offer platitudes under Trudeau. The new Liberal leader doesn’t mention the word Jew, Jewish or Israel period, and so here’s a chance for the candidate to defend the party he represents.” He says that makes the lack of a debate indefensible.
“There’s a war going on between Israel and Hamas. Hamas wants to make Israel judenrein, and Israel doesn’t think that’s a good idea. And to all of the supporters of Hamas, ‘from the river to the sea’, the whole thing? I think the Jewish community agrees that’s a bad idea and would like to talk about it.”
True to Housefather’s contention that this is a sticking point for his opponent’s supporters, Hampstead mayor Jeremy Levi, a fierce critic of the Liberals—and strong vocal supporter of Oberman—has been calling out Housefather for refusing to agree to a debate. “With the rise in antisemitism going on in Canada right now, the Liberal Party has been in power and have done nothing to quash it, so there’s no way in hell that we should support them.”
The results are in. After polling across three different platforms for several days, the message from the people is crystal clear—91% want to see a debate between Neil Oberman (Conservative) and Anthony Housefather (Liberal). Yet, Mr. Housefather remains silent. Why? What are you… pic.twitter.com/sU73ynLiix
— Mayor Jeremy Levi (@jerlevi) March 31, 2025
“The problem is when you have mayors like (Cote Saint-Luc’s) Mitch Brownstein cheerleading on Anthony Housefather and all the other Liberal cheerleader Jews who do not understand the rot within the Liberal Party. They don’t get it. Most people are so unaffected and not involved with politics, they just see what’s put in front of them, and that’s why Anthony doesn’t want to debate.”
Housefather shrugs that off, and is more interested in talking about the new Liberal government and the challenges faced by Canada, saying his record on defending Israel and fighting antisemitism is clear. Brownstein agrees, saying anyone who needs to know where Housefather stands on those issues, “You just have to Google him and you’ll see he’s been a leader.”
On local social media forums and exchanges however, a lot of pushback is claiming no receipts on any B’nai Brith debate to begin with, i.e., since the debate was never set, calling it cancelled is misleading. B’nai Brith not commenting publicly on the snafu, or the veracity of the post that was removed, only adds to the confusion.
That’s what lies at the heart of Shnurmacher’s critique, which has echoed in the riding even though he agrees it’s common wisdom for politicians not to agree to debate if they have nothing to win but everything to lose. “They’re doing the debate in Toronto. They’re doing two. They agreed.”
While reiterating that Housefather is a “decent guy who works hard for his constituents,” albeit in a party that he says doesn’t deserve Jewish community support, he says “what’s worse than Anthony saying no to the debate is B’nai Brith going along with it, because that indicates that what Anthony wants, Anthony gets, and therefore that’s the B’nai Brith is. It’s inexcusable.
“I hope people remember that when it’s time for soliciting donations.”
No other organization has indicated any plan to stage a debate in Mount Royal. In neighbouring NDG- Westmount, home to more than 10,000 Jews, the NDG Community Council is staging an all-candidates open forum as it does for every election. In the 2023 by-election following the resignation of Marc Garneau, Liberal Anna Gainey did not show up to the only public forum, and in a subdued, tightly controlled campaign with very little visibility, handily beat her nearest rivals by some 8,000 votes.
