The Munk Debates

The Munk Debates is a public debating forum that organizes debates in Toronto semi-annually.

The Munk Debates is a public debating forum that organizes debates in Toronto semi-annually. The debates take place in the evening in front of an audience of 3,000 people at Roy Thomson Hall. The debates begin at 7:00 p.m. with a vote by the audience on the resolution being debated. They last approximately an hour and a half and the final vote is tallied and the winning side announced before 9:00 p.m. Two panelists argue for a debate style motion and two against. The format is short opening statements followed by a civil and substantive moderated panel discussion, followed by short closing statements. The debates are broadcast throughout Canada by the CBC and across the continental United States on C-SPAN. The transcript of each debate is published as a book in Canada by House of Anansi Press and internationally. Past participants include Henry Kissinger, Glenn Greenwald, Paul Krugman, Fareed Zakaria, Tony Blair, Christopher Hitchens, Larry Summers, and more. The Munk Debates are organized by Rudyard Griffiths, the President of the Peter and Melanie Munk Charitable Foundation.