The leaders\u2019 debate aired Monday and now some Waterloo Region residents are weighing in with thoughts on how it went as the provincial election draws closer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some said it lacked substance<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt wasn\u2019t really a great way to do much more than see how the leader\u2019s react to each other. Because it is almost like theatre,\u201d one resident said<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Experts agree and said typically debates rarely move the needle<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSo the debate really didn\u2019t present any surprises or anything shocking. It was quite a normal debate,\u201d said Andrea Perrella, a Wilfrid Laurier University professor<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Perrella said debates can benefit lesser-known candidates like Bonnie Crombie and Marit Stiles<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is their first provincial election as leaders of their respective parties. So they just wanted to be better known. And I think that that was achieved,\u201d Perrella said<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some did not even know the leaders\u2019 debate was happening<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t see that,\u201d said one resident<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Others said they do care about the election, but they will get more educated on the candidates close to election day<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Perrella, last-minute cramming on candidates is common<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe know we have to file our taxes but we don\u2019t always do it early. We wait until close to the deadline saying, \u2018All right, maybe I should file my taxes now.\u2019 And it\u2019s the same idea that a lot of voters wake up to the election and engage with it and the last couple of days and that\u2019s where you may see some tightening unless something drastic happens,\u201d Perrella said<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He expects to see the polls shift on election day but not by much<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnd in the last couple of days, we may see narrowing in the polls. I don\u2019t know if we\u2019re going to see a flip. I don\u2019t think we\u2019re going to be seeing a lead in any other party,\u201d he said<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Advanced polling begins Feb. 20. Polls close Feb. 27 at 9 p.m<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The leaders\u2019 debate aired Monday and now some Waterloo Region residents are weighing in with thoughts on how it went as the provincial election draws closer. Some said it lacked substance \u201cIt wasn\u2019t really a great way to do much more than see how the leader\u2019s react to each other. Because it is almost like […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":33592,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":{"format":"standard"},"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"jnews_post_split":[],"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[48],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\n