The result of a modern debate is always something of a blur. But what this year's encounters underlined is that this election is primarily about both two very different candidates for prime minister and two very different ideas of what the greatest threat to the country actually is.

For months, Pierre Poilievre had been riding high. He had successfully tapped into public anxiety over an affordability crisis in Canada, his attacks against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had found a receptive audience,

A snap election defined by economic anxiety and annexation threats is now a two-man race about who can stand up to the president.