Ignatieff Accepts Mercer’s Offer to Host One-On-One Debate

The comedian said he would produce a debate between Stephen Harper and the Liberal leader.

Presumably the host of The Rick Mercer Report, satirist Rick Mercer, wasn’t joking when he tweeted Friday that he would rent out Toronto’s Massey Hall and host a debate between the only two candidates in the 2011 election with a chance of becoming prime minister. Michael Ignatieff tweeted back “I’m in,” but Conservative Leader Stephen Harper has rejected the idea out of hand, saying that the broadcast consortium in charge of the leadership debates has ruled out a one-on-one format and that the candidates’ debates scheduled for April 12 and 14 should go ahead as planned. Critics say the format of those debates is flawed, and several organizations have come forward and offered to host alternative debates.