Prince Edward Island's Conservative leader says she has no regrets boycotting a televised election debate that was supposed to take place this week, saying she did so in the interests of democracy.
But was Olive Crane's decision a bold stand that will pay off at the polls or an opportunity squandered?
Early in the campaign, Ms. Crane announced she would not participate in the CBC debate that was planned for Wednesday unless the public broadcaster reversed its decision to exclude the New Democratic, Green and Island party leaders.
The CBC did not budge, saying its decision was made because the governing Liberals and Opposition Tories were the only two parties represented in the legislature and as such, were the only parties that should take part in the debate.
"One of those two parties realistically is going to form the next government and the other parties are really not that much of a factor within the legislature," said CBC spokesman Jeff Keay.
Ms. Crane did not relent, so CBC pulled the plug on the event.
The cancellation comes just as accusations of wrongdoing involving the province's failed immigration nominee program have resurfaced, forcing Liberal Premier Robert Ghiz off his message track in what has been an otherwise quiet campaign.
Peter McKenna, a political scientist at the University of Prince Edward Island, said Ms. Crane's decision was unwise.
"I think it hurts her campaign," Mr. McKenna said.
"I think that she would benefit by taking Robert Ghiz on and trying to score the proverbial knockout punch, but I guess there are concerns that could backfire and that could hurt the party's chances on Oct. 3."
Mr. McKenna said with the Conservatives holding just two of the legislature's 27 seats going into the election, there is much pressure on Ms. Crane to perform well on the campaign trail.
"She has to try to change and alter the current electoral trajectory, which doesn't favour her," he said.
Ms. Crane said she stands by her decision and believes Islanders will support her for it.
"I took a stand for all of P.E.I.," Ms. Crane said.
"Ordinary Islanders are very involved in this particular election. They will see just like I have performed over the last four years standing up for whatever their issues were in the legislature."
Mr. Ghiz said he would have relished the opportunity to debate with Ms. Crane.
"I'm a little disappointed we're not going to have that one-on-one debate," Mr. Ghiz said.
"Islanders do have a chance to hear things, but the one debate that people usually do watch the most is the CBC debate ... so I think it's unfortunate."
Provincial NDP Leader James Rodd said his party is considering legal action.
There is a televised debate Thursday hosted by the Charlottetown Guardian and Eastlink. All five party leaders are invited.
Tyler Sommers, a co-ordinator with Ottawa-based Democracy Watch, said while it wouldn't have been ideal, democracy would have been better served by a debate between two leaders rather than cancelling it altogether.
But he said it should not be up to the media to determine who should be included in televised election debates.
"What we should have is a shifting of the organization of the debates from the media conglomerates to the election bodies in each of the provinces to ensure that it is fair and inclusive," Mr. Sommers said.
He said there should be some criteria for inclusion in debates, such as getting at least two per cent of the votes in the previous election.
It's not the first time the issue has surfaced. Federal Green party Leader Elizabeth May was initially excluded from a national leaders' debate in 2008 because her party did not have any MPs.
After public outcry, the broadcast consortium airing the debate allowed her to participate. But the broadcasters held firm in their decision to exclude May from the 2011 federal election debate.
In addition to the two Tory seats, there were 24 Liberals in the provincial legislature at dissolution. There was also one vacancy.