Federal Election 2015: Conservatives agree to debate on economy hosted by Google, Globe and Mail

And then there were three — independently organized election debates to pencil onto the campaign calendar.

According to a release from Conservative Party spokesman and principal adviser Kory Teneycke, his party will take the Globe and Mail and Google Canada up on their offer to hold a leaders' debate on the economy.

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"We look forward to this opportunity for voters to compare our plans to keep the Canadian economy strong to the tax and spend plans of the opposition," Teneycke noted in a release.

Last week, the party announced that it was pulling out of the traditional pre-election negotiations with the Broadcast consortium, the ad hoc committee of Canadian broadcasters that have banded together to organize the debates in the past, to accept competing bids from two non-member broadcasters; Rogers/Maclean's and TVA.

They also opened the floor to offers from any media outlet or organization with a hankering to host a faceoff between federal party leaders — up to a total of five debates, according to Teneycke — which, following Wednesday's announcement, is now down to just two remaining slots. It's not clear how many of the debates announced so far would take place before the election campaign is officially underway.

Tories worried about coverage?

Sources have told CBC News that at least two of the debate hosts to come forward so far — Rogers/Maclean's and now the Globe and Mail/Google — have indicated that they intend to make the feed available to all broadcasters, although it's not yet clear what the cost might be, or what restrictions might be imposed on use of the footage.

Teneycke is urging competing media outlets to take the hosts up on whatever access offer is ultimately extended, which may be a tacit acknowledgement of the relatively limited reach of online and alternative outlets.

"The broadcast consortium has stated its belief that: 'it is in the best interest of democracy in Canada to expose as many Canadians as possible, across the country, to our potential leaders debating issues of concern,'" he notes.

"We are confident that members of the consortium, and other Canadian media organizations, will recognize the value of these leaders' debates on the crucial economic questions of this election and cover the debates in a manner that ensures all Canadians can watch."

The Globe and Mail has reported the event "will be open to all media and will be livestreamed on globeandmail.com in partnership with Google Canada and distributed through YouTube," but has not yet said whether television broadcasters would also be able to show the debate live on their respective networks, or if it will be exclusively aired online.

The Globe and Mail and CTV were once part of the same media company, but have operated separately since 2011.

Green Party rips Conservatives

It's unknown whether all the other parties will sign on to a debate focusing exclusively on the economy, although the New Democrats have been making a point of accepting every invitation to be extended so far, while maintaining their willingness to take part in a consortium-run event as well.

A party source confirmed to CBC News that the latest invitation has been accepted "in principle."

The Liberals have refused to say which, if any, debates they would consider, concentrating their efforts instead on castigating the Conservatives for upending the negotiating process, and seeking to cherry pick venues, hosts and topics.

Meanwhile, the Green Party has come out swinging against any move that would shut out the consortium.

"By choosing to outright decline the national broadcaster's proposal of four debates in both official languages, Stephen Harper is clearly trying to fragment the audience and create a debate free for all that will not benefit voters," Green Party spokesman Julian Morelli said in a written statement. 

"Once Canadians understand the true motivation of the Conservatives, they will be outraged."