Canadian University Society for Intercollegiate Debate

The Canadian University Society for Intercollegiate Debate (CUSID generally) is the national organization which governs all English language competitive university debating and public speaking in Canada.[1] It sanctions several official annual tournaments and represents Canadian debating domestically and abroad. Its membership consists of student debating unions, sanctioned by their respective universities, from across Canada.[2] CUSID has been described as "a student-run, parliamentary debate league with close ties to the American Parliamentary Debate Association".[3]

Canadian University Society for Intercollegiate Debate
Formation1978 (1978)
TypeStudent debating organization
Location
President
Mehdi Bouchentouf
Carleton University
AffiliationsWorld Universities Debating Council
Websitewww.cusid.ca

Many prominent Canadians were university debaters, including Prime Ministers Justin Trudeau, Joe Clark and Brian Mulroney, MP John Godfrey, Canadian Supreme Court justices Ian Binnie and Morris Fish, songwriter Leonard Cohen, entrepreneur Moses Znaimer, environmentalist David Suzuki, and journalist Ian Hanomansing. CUSID debaters have gone on to notable careers in law, business, government and academia and the presidency of the organization is a highly sought-after position.

History

CUSID was officially founded in 1978, although it held its first annual tournament in 1977.[4] The regular tournaments held under its auspices, such as those at the University of Toronto, McGill University, the University of Western Ontario, Queen's University, and the University of Ottawa predate CUSID's formation by many decades.

Founded as a national organization with strong central Canadian region roots, over the years, individual regional differences—particularly the separate identities of "CUSID East" and "CUSID West"—have become more pronounced. One of its primary functions is facilitating communications between its members institutions. Until the late 2000s, those communications have been primarily through their online forum, CUSIDnet, first set up in 1994, as the first online student debating forum in the world. More recently, communications are conducted through social media platforms such as Facebook.

Annual intervarsity tournaments held in Canada include the McGill University Winter Carnival, the Queen's University Chancellor's Cup and Sutherland IV, the Carleton University Lord Dorchester Cup, the University of Toronto Hart House IV,[5] the University of Ottawa Father Guindon Cup, and the Wilfrid Laurier University/University of Waterloo Seagram Cup.

The inaugural British Parliamentary National Championship was hosted in 2004 at the University of Toronto.[6] Unlike other CUSID title tournaments, participants do not need to be a member of a CUSID institution in order to take part. This leads to the tournament to often be attended by American and other international teams.

In 2020, for the first time in history, the society was forced to cancel its Canadian Parliamentary National Debating Championship due to the risk presented by COVID-19. Other tournaments affected included Carleton's Lord Dorchester Cup, the North American Womxn and Gender Minorities Debating Championship and numerous American tournaments. In July 2020, the National Championship was revived by hosting an online iteration organized by the year's original host institution, the University of Calgary Debate Society. Due to continued pandemic restrictions, the entirety of the 2020–2021 season was also held online.

In 2020 CUSID voted to end the long-standing tradition to not allow hybrid teams (teams representing two different institutions) at Canadian Parliamentary Nationals, the Central Canadian Debating Championship, the Atlantic Canadian Debating Championship and the Western Canadian Debating Championship. This aligned them with the society's British Parliamentary Championship, which has always allowed such teams.

Organization

CUSID is subdivided into three regional bodies, representing each region of Canada:

  • CUSID Central, for Ontario and Quebec, which sponsors the Central Canadian Debating Championship (Léger Cup)
  • CUSID Atlantic, for the Atlantic Provinces, which sponsors the Atlantic Canadian Debating Championship
  • CUSID West, for the Western Provinces, Territories, and the U.S. state of Alaska, which sponsors the Western Canadian Debating Championship (McGoun Cup)

CUSID nationally and internationally sanctions several official championship tournaments, including:

The president of CUSID is the head of the organization and leads an elected executive team of six national and regional officers.[11] They also represents CUSID and Canadian debating interests inside and outside of Canada, and is the Canadian representative on the World Universities Debating Council. They are elected annually by the member institutions at the National Championships.

There have been six CUSID Presidents who won the National Championships during their term as President: Jason Brent (1992), Gerald Butts (1993), Robert Silver (2000), Vinay Mysore (2010), Louis Tsilivis (2013), and Harar Hall (2019).

Notable Presidents of CUSID

Formats

Many CUSID tournaments are held in the Canadian Parliamentary Style of debate. This style emphasizes argumentation and rhetoric, rather than research and detailed factual knowledge. Each round consists of two teams – the government team and the opposition team – each of which consists of two debaters. Teams alternate between government and opposition at tournaments. The speaking times in CUSID Central and East are:

  • Prime Minister (Constructive): 7 minutes
  • Member of Opposition: 7 minutes
  • Minister of the Crown: 7 minutes
  • Leader of Opposition: 10 minutes
  • Prime Minister (Rebuttal): 3 minutes

A new modification to the above times was introduced at the 2003 McGill University Winter Carnival Invitational called the Prime Minister's Rebuttal Extension (PMRE). The PMRE allows the government team the option to take a 6-minute PMC and 4-minute PMR and was designed to help compensate for the alleged inherent advantage to the opposition side. In most rounds, the resolution is "squirrelable", meaning that the government team can propose any topic it wants for debate. The Prime Minister Constructive (PMC) lays out the topic for debate and presents arguments in favor of its position. The opposition team must then immediately present opposing arguments. New arguments can be presented in the first four speeches; they are prohibited in the rebuttal speeches. In the early 2010s the "opposition choice" option was introduced. Rather than presenting the motion as it stands, the Prime Minister lays out the topic and the opposite bench has the option of choosing which side of the motion they would prefer.

"Points of Information" are generally permitted and expected in the standard Canadian Parliamentary style. With POIs, debaters may rise and attempt to ask a question of an opposing debater, who can choose whether to accept or refuse the question. It is generally considered good form to accept at least a few questions during a speech.

Tournaments are otherwise held in British Parliamentary, sometimes known as WUDC style. Presently, all tournaments for the first semester of the academic year, September–December, use British Parliamentary as the format. This is for teams to prepare for the World University Debating Championship which occurs over New Year's each year. Since its introduction, British Parliamentary has become the more competitive of the two formats, largely because it is the format used for international competition.

Canadian Parliamentary National Championships

YearHostWinnerTeamTop DebaterTeamPublic Speaking ChampionTeam
2020 Calgary Deborah Wong & Dhananjay Ashok Toronto Jacob Silcoff McGill Emily Xie Western
2019 Western Harar Hall & Isaac Botham Carleton Harar Hall Carleton Uman Tamann McGill
2018 Queen's William Onyeaju & Cole Bricker Osgoode Kiana Saint-Macary McGill Jacob Silcoff McGill
2017 McGill Betsy Studholme & Ksenia Podvoiskaia Queen's Ryan Howson Western Cassandra Cervi Western
2016AlbertaMitchell Dorbyk & Tavish LoganQueen'sMitchell DorbykQueen'sJanel ComeauAlberta
2015McGillSam Greene & Joe McGradeTorontoJulia KirbyQueen'sCarmen ReillyToronto
2014DalhousieJulia Kirby & Michelle PolsterQueen'sVeenu GoswamiTorontoDaniel MiltonMcGill
2013UBCVeenu Goswami & Louis TsilivisTorontoVeenu GoswamiTorontoTravis GritterUBC
2012OsgoodeAnisah Hassan & Joshua StarkTorontoDeirdre CaseyTorontoAlex AmarMcGill
2011WesternSteven Penner & George TrotterTorontoGeorge TrotterTorontoHusein PanjuQueen's
2010AlbertaSophie McIntyre & Vinay Mysore[12]McGillSean StefanikMcGillChristopher McMillanCalgary
2009USaskRichard Lizius & Paul-Erik VeelTorontoRichard LiziusTorontoDan PowellRMC
2008DalhousieMonica Ferris & Jon Laxer[7]TorontoRichard LiziusTorontoVinay MysoreMcGill
2007Queen'sAdrienne Lipsey & Richard LiziusTorontoMike Jancik & Jason RogersMcGillLeon GrekMcGill
2006CarletonIan Freeman & Gaurav ToshniwalTorontoLaura KusistoQueen'sJason RogersMcGill
2005AlbertaRahool Agarwal & Michael KotrlyTorontoJames RenihanTorontoIan FreemanToronto
2004McGillEmily Cohen & Omar FaircloughYorkKevin MassieQueen'sMarc LaferriereOttawa
2003DalhousieGreg Allen & Rahim MolooUBCKevin MassieUBCEmma LowmanMcMaster
2002UBCRory McKeown & Aaron RousseauTorontoNicola MatthewsQueen'sMichael MeeuwisToronto
2001YorkNicola Matthews & Mike PodgorskiQueen'sMichael MeeuwisTorontoJohn WhelanMemorial University
2000MemorialRanjan Agarwal & Robert SilverOttawaRobert SilverOttawaAndrew ZadelMcGill
1999WesternSacha Bhatia & Dena VarahMcGillNathan MacDonaldGuelphDuncan RetsonAcadia
1998AlbertaJacob Glick & Grant YiuTorontoMike ShoreTorontoMelanie MarshallRyerson
1997DalhousieBrent Patterson & Robert SilverWesternCasey HalladayWesternMarc FieldMemorial
1996OttawaAllen Middlebro & Jordan TanCarletonRon GuirguisGuelphJames ClitheroeCarleton
1995Bishop'sRandy Cass & Frank CesarioTorontoRandy CassTorontoJohn BielbyConcordia
1994YorkPeter Balasubramanian & Gerald ButtsMcGillDavid OrrWesternAwi SinhaOttawa
1993GuelphPeter Balasubramanian & Gerald ButtsMcGillJohn HaffnerDalhousieMarc WeberWaterloo
1992WesternJason Brent & Tom MeehanTorontoMarc GivensQueen'sMarc WeberWaterloo
1991Coast GuardJason Brent & Tom MeehanTorontoKevin WhitehouseOttawaJames RocchiWestern
1990RMCTim Daley & Laura StewartDalhousieChris WaylandMcGillSteven JohnsonMcGill
1989Queen'sJudy Hearn & Stephen PitelCarletonJustin MacGregorTorontoJustin MacGregorToronto
1988WaterlooDiane Brady & Paul PatonTorontoMark McKeeganCarletonChris ChandlerMcGill
1987MemorialMatt Colledge & Neil SteinmanQueen'sMatthew MendelsohnMcGillMark McKeeganCarleton
1986UBCIan Hanomansing & Cyril JohnstonDalhousieIan HanomansingDalhousieIan HanomansingDalhousie
1985ConcordiaDoug Cooper & Paul CooperTorontoIan HanomansingDalhousieIan HanomansingDalhousie
1984DalhousieJohn Duffy & Jeff NankivellToronto????
1983VictoriaGary Boyd & Michael McCullochOttawaIan HanomansingMount Allison??
1982RMCDale Darling & Gwynneth JonesQueen'sTom GoughTorontoSean MayOttawa
1981DalhousieCharlie Lavergne & Joe PollenderMcGillJoe PollenderMcGill??
1980AlbertaGary Boyd & Michael McCullochOttawa????
1979Queen'sThomas Gough & Michael McCullochToronto????
1978OttawaFred McMahon & Oscar MullerbeckMcGill????

National Debating Championship By Institution

InstitutionChampionship WinsTop SpeakersPublic Speaking WinsYears HostedLast Championship Win
Toronto 19 12 4 0 2020
Queen's 6 6 1 4 2017
McGill 6 6 10 3 2010
Carleton 3 2 2 1 2019
Ottawa 3 2 3 2 2008
Dalhousie 2 3 2 6 1990
Osgoode 1 0 0 1 2018
UBC 1 1 1 3 2003
Western 1 3 3 4 1997
York 1 0 0 2 2004
Mount Allison 0 1 0 0 -
Memorial University 0 0 2 2 -
Alberta 0 0 1 5 -
RMC 0 0 1 2 -
Ryerson 0 0 1 0 -
Calgary 0 0 0 1 -

British Parliamentary National Championships

YearHostWinnerTeamTop SpeakerTeamTop Novice SpeakerTeam
2020 Carleton Matthew Farrell & Max Rosen[13] McGill Ruth Silcoff McGill Gabrielle Wong SFU
2019 McGill Addy Rawat & Ethan Curry Hybrid Queens-Western Navin Kariyawasam Toronto Joshua Cohen Dawson
2018 Carleton Kiana Saint-Macary & Ahmad Nehme[14] Hybrid McGill-Montreal Kiana Saint-Macary McGill Dhananjay Ashok Toronto
2017 McGill Connor Ahluwalia & Matthew Gallagher[15] Carleton Sarah Millman Toronto Armin Safavi Toronto
2016 UBC Kiana Saint-Macary & Alexander Beaumont McGill Jason Xiao Independent Jayun Bae Toronto
2015 York Julia Kirby & Julia Milden[16] Queens Aislin Flynn Toronto Jason Xiao UBC
2014 Western Aislin Flynn & Sean Husband[17] Toronto Daniel Milton McGill Julia Milden Queens
2013 McMaster Sarah Balakrishnan & Cole Bricker McGill Brent Schmidt Western Brittany Haughey Carleton
2012 Victoria Bhuvana Sankar & Pardeep Dhaliwal[18] Hybrid Toronto-Calgary Robert Lees-Miller Alberta Chardaye Bueckert SFU
2011 Laurier Josh Stark & Veenu Goswami[19] Toronto Steven Penner & Veenu Goswami (Tie) Toronto Lyle Dobbin McGill
2010 Dalhousie Sam Greene & Steven Penner[20] Toronto Brent Kettles Toronto Ted Mateoc McGill
2009 UBC Richard Lizius & Ian Freeman[21] Toronto Michael Imeson Alaska
2008 Queen's Richard Lizius & Ian Freeman[22] Toronto Richard Lizius Toronto Sean Husband McGill
2007 Alberta Adam Coombs & Garnett Genuis[23] Carleton Ian Freeman Toronto George Trotter Toronto
2006 Toronto Derek Lande & David Denton[24] Hybrid University College Cork-Yale Ben Eidelson Yale Sophie MacIntyre McGill
2005 UBC Rory McKeown & Gaurav Toshniwal[25] Toronto James Renihan Toronto
2004 Toronto Gordon Shotwell & Jess Prince[26] McGill Rory Gillis Yale Luke Champlin Colgate

References

  1. Meany, John and Shuster, Kate. On That Point!: An Introduction to Parliamentary Debate. International Debate Education Association, 2003. ISBN 978-0-9720541-1-9. Page 318.
  2. Freely, Austin and Steinberg, David. Argumentation and Debate. Wadsworth Publishing, 2008. ISBN 978-0-495-09590-3. Page 475.
  3. Rogers, Jack. Transforming debate: the best of the international journal of forensics. International Debate Education Association, 2002. ISBN 978-0-9702130-1-3. Page 141.
  4. Debaters find bit of arrogance can be benefit https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2194&dat=19771121&id=2dYyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Bu4FAAAAIBAJ&pg=2515,86433
  5. World Debating Website: Hart House BP Invitational
  6. Hart House's bid for the CUSID BP Championships http://www.cusid.ca/community/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=3144
  7. Dalhouse hosts national debating championships http://dalnews.dal.ca/2008/03/19/debate.html
  8. "APDA Web – Home of the American Parliamentary Debate Association | American College Debate Association – About". Archived from the original on 2011-05-23. Retrieved 2010-05-14.
  9. North American Debating Championship Memorandum of Understanding Archived 2011-07-15 at the Wayback Machine
  10. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-07-21. Retrieved 2010-05-14.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  11. Past Executive | CUSID
  12. McGill Wins CUSID Nationals http://globaldebateblog.blogspot.com/2010/03/mcgill-wins-cusid-nationals.html
  13. https://cuds.calicotab.com/bpchamps2020/
  14. 2018 Canadian British Parliamentary Tab https://dorch2018.herokuapp.com/bpchamps2018/tab/team/
  15. 2016 Canadian British Parliamentary Championship Tab http://www.queensdebatingunion.org/wp-content/uploads/Speaker-Tab-for-BPCHAMP.xlsx.pdf
  16. 2015 Canadian British Parliamentary Championship Tab http://www.queensdebatingunion.org/wp-content/uploads/York-2015-Canadian-BP-Champs-Full-Tab-and-Motions.pdf
  17. 2014 Canadian British Parliamentary Championship http://www.cusid.ca/community/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=23706
  18. UVic British Parliamentary Championships Invitation http://www.cusid.ca/community/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=22655
  19. British Parliamentary Champs 2011 Meeting Minutes http://www.cusid.ca/community/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=22319&p=323882&hilit=2011#p323882
  20. HWS Round Robin Field 2012 http://globaldebateblog.blogspot.com/2012/02/hws-round-robin-field-2012.html
  21. BP Champs 2009 Invitation http://www.cusid.ca/community/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=19059
  22. CUSID Tournament Results https://web.archive.org/web/20090508143620/http://www.cusid.ca/results.php?cat=5
  23. CUSID Tournament Results https://web.archive.org/web/20090508143620/http://www.cusid.ca/results.php?cat=5
  24. CUSID Tournament Results https://web.archive.org/web/20090508143620/http://www.cusid.ca/results.php?cat=5
  25. CUSID Tournament Results https://web.archive.org/web/20090508143620/http://www.cusid.ca/results.php?cat=5
  26. CUSID Tournament Results https://web.archive.org/web/20090508143620/http://www.cusid.ca/results.php?cat=5
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