The British Columbia election campaign is about to reach a critical juncture with the three main party leaders set to square off in a television debate Tuesday.
It's the only televised debate of the campaign ahead of voting day on Oct. 19.
Supporters of the leaders, New Democrat David Eby, B.C. Conservative John Rustad and Sonia Furstenau of the Greens, see the debate as an opportunity for their candidates to get messages to voters under the glare of the TV lights.
The television debate will be broadcast from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, airing on CBC, Global B.C., BC1, Citytv, CTV Vancouver and Omni B.C., which will offer Punjabi, Cantonese and Mandarin translations. Shachi Kurl, president of Angus Reid Institute, will be the moderator.
The campaign up to now has seen Eby and Rustad trading insults about supporting conspiracy theories and weak leadership.
Both Eby and Rustad were in B.C.'s Okanagan over the weekend, with Eby promising to entice more doctors, nurses and health professionals to rural communities with a loan forgiveness program and Rustad in Kelowna pledging to bring an end to tent encampments.
As election day approaches, advance voting will be available Oct. 10 to 13 and Oct. 15 to 16, with the final voting day on Oct. 19.
— With files from the Times Colonist