Parliamentary Debating (Canadian)

Parliamentary Debate follows rules similar to those used in parliament.  Canadian parliamentry debate involves one team of 2 debaters on each side. The side in favour is called the government and consists of the Prime Minister and the Minister of the Crown.The side against is called His Majesty’s Loyal Opposition and consists of the Leader of the Opposition and the second Opposition speaker, also known as the Shadow Minister or Critic. The government is NOT the current Canadian or provincial government. The person chairing the debate is called the Speaker and the audience is called the House. The speaking order is Prime Minister, followed by Leader of the Opposition, followed by the Minister of the Crown, followed by the Shadow Minister, followed by the Leader of the Opposition’s rebuttal, followed by the Prime Minister’s rebuttal. Speeches are normally 3 to 6 minutes long and rebuttals are normally 2 to 3 minutes long, although these times and rules may vary a bit from province to province. Points of Information (i.e. standing to see if you can ask a question when the other side is speaking) are allowed.

University tournaments usually use 7 minute speeches and sometimes combine the second opposoition speech with the opposition rebuttal so that person has a 10 minute speech, in which case the second Opposition speaker is called the Leader of the Opposition and the first Opposition speaker is called the Critic, shadow Minister, or member of the Opposition.