Canada election 2015: Where the leaders are Thursday

After a relatively quiet day on the election campaign trail, five party leaders gather in Montreal tonight for a French-language debate. The debate, to be broadcast and livestreamed on CBC.ca, is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. ET.

The Canadian Press · Posted: Sep 24, 2015 7:16 AM EDT | Last Updated: September 24, 2015

The main federal party leaders, from left, Gilles Duceppe, Stephen Harper, Elizabeth May, Tom Mulcair and Justin Trudeau. (Reuters/Canadian Press)

After a relatively quiet day on the election campaign trail, five party leaders gather in Montreal tonight for a French-language debate.

The debate, to be broadcast and livestreamed, is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. ET.

For Bloc Leader Gilles Duceppe, the debate will offer him a rare opportunity to speak not only to Quebec voters, but to those across the country.

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It's likely Duceppe will spend much of his time targeting Tom Mulcair since polls suggest his New Democrats are doing well in Quebec where the Bloc was reduced to just four seats in the last federal election.

For her part, Green Party Leader Elizabeth May will be looking to gain national attention in what may be her last opportunity to stand alongside the other leaders before the Oct. 19 election.

May was excluded from a recent debate on the economy and has not been invited to one on foreign policy set for Monday.

How to watch Thursday's debate

The French-language leaders' debate will be broadcast live and live streamed online 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET Thursday.

You can watch the debate in simultaneous English translation on CBC News Network and online at CBCNews.ca/Canada Votes. The debate will be broadcast in French by Radio-Canada (check local listings) and live streamed online at ICI Radio-Canada.ca.

For the three front-runners, the debate will be an opportunity to showcase their visions for the country.

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau will have an edge over his Conservative rival Stephen Harper given the debate is in French but Mulcair is even more fluent.

Trudeau will be looking to shore up support in Quebec, where his party is polling well behind the NDP.

Harper and Duceppe are likely to attack Trudeau for supporting the right of people to choose to wear face veils during citizenship ceremonies.

The Tory leader, whose party holds just five seats in Quebec, is expected to hammer home his messages of strong economic stewardship, low taxes and job creation.

What a party leader's itinerary reveals

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Here are details of the leaders' itineraries. All times are local:

Conservative Leader Stephen Harper