Debate Club Wins Pro-Con Forum
St. Michael’s College School’s (SMCS) senior debate team members recently took home first place at the Ontario Pro-Con Debating Forum—the largest in Toronto and one with Basilian and SMCS roots.
“Winning this competition is a big deal because it’s the biggest and only Pro-Con debating forum in Toronto,” says Ronan Zhong, Grade 12, who has been a member of the Debate Club since Grade 7. “Also, this is the first time St. Mike’s senior team has won first place in this tournament since 2000, so it’s a huge comeback for the programme.”
The Ontario Pro-Con Debating Forum was founded in 1960 by Fr. Leo Burns, CSB, ’54 and Joe Younder, OSM, ’56, former SMCS faculty member. SMCS is also one of the founding members of the league.
The 2026 finals, held at SMCS in the Campeau Lecture Hall, welcomed high school teams from around the city, including long-time rival De La Salle College, with which SMCS shares first place after a tie following the competition.
“After three rounds of debate, St. Michael’s senior debate team of Ronan Zhong, David Li, Lucas Connop, and Edmund Mao accumulated four wins and was tied with rival De La Salle College,” says John Vella ’85. “It would come down to total points to decide the championship. In a highly improbable outcome, after 18 ballots per team, St. Michael’s and De La Salle were again tied with a total of 480 points.”
“I think that winning this forum was extremely significant for the reputation of St. Mike’s,” says Lucas Connop, Grade 12, who joined in Grade 11 with no prior experience. “When some people hear of St. Mike’s, they often think of the prestigious academics, athletics, and arts, but debate doesn’t usually come to mind. Winning this tournament was a great way to establish our school’s excellence in other fields, too, like debate.”
For the regional qualifier rounds that take place from October to March, any school debate team is invited to compete, but for the final round of competition, only the top four schools may participate.
“Preparation started the day I found out we got into finals,” says Edmond Mao, Grade 12, who has also been a member of the club since Grade 7. “As soon as Mr. Bellisario told us the prepared motion for the debate, we worked tirelessly, figuring out our lines of questioning, constructive speeches, and even potential rebuttals. Preparation isn’t limited to research but also to practice. When we were researching, our weekly meetings allowed us to anticipate our opponents’ strategies and work around them.”
In addition to the first-place prize, Mao earned an individual third-place speaker trophy for his outstanding work during the competition.
“If you told me back in Grade 7 that I would place third overall speaker and win the entire forum, I would not have believed you,” says Mao. “When I first came to the school, my debate prowess was very limited. As Mr. Bellesario put it, I was a loose cannon; I was passionate but lacked structure. Over the years, I’ve honed my skills to bring me to where I am now. None of this would have been possible if not for the guidance of the various mentors within the club, such as Mr. Vella, Mr. Bellesario, and our former president, Joseph Luo ’24.”
Zhong adds, “My experience with high school debate has been a long, but very rewarding experience. When I became debate president in Grade 11, my goal was always to revive the club and create a strong debating programme at St. Mike’s. This win in the Pro-Con Debating Forum really shows how far we’ve come as a club, and as individual debaters, and I couldn’t be any prouder of our accomplishments.”
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