Liberal leader Justin Trudeau exceeded expectations; the NDP's Tom Mulcair appeared scripted while the Prime Minister gave his most relaxed performance yet.
Just some of the observations from associate political science professor Lydia Miljan summing up Thursday night's Federal Leaders Debate.
Most pundits agree there was no clear winner in the debate, and Miljan agrees. She says Stephen Harper obviously had the most to lose but believes he held his own. "He wasn't overly defensive. He was a little bit more human in this one, which we don't always see."
Miljan gives Green Party leader Elizabeth May good marks for her performance. "She was the most authentic there, the most natural speaker, obviously knows her party's file very closely. She knows all facts and figures."
However, Miljan wonders if May belonged in the leaders debate. "We know that the Greens are not going to be able to make a huge inroad. I felt she was better positioned in sort of a pundit panel or policy debate."
The mark of any good debate is the ability of participants to keep each other accountable, and Miljan thinks the opposition leaders did a good job but felt some of the numbers quoted were cherry picked. "I'm not sure if people get much out of that except that they'll agree with the people they already agree with."