SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I. - An appearance on a wildly popular Quebec talk show and a TV special in English Canada could be Michael Ignatieff's last shot to make a big impression on voters before they cast ballots.
The Liberal leader will appear on Tout le monde en parle, the Radio-Canada television show and cultural phenomenon that is viewed by almost one-third of the province's voters every Sunday evening.
The Grits have also bought a half-hour of TV time on Sunday afternoon that they are calling "Michael Ignatieff's Town Hall for Canada," where they'll air footage of the Liberal leader on the campaign trail.
But Tout le monde en parle (Everybody's talking about it) holds the greatest promise -- and peril -- for Ignatieff.
The irreverent and fast-paced French-language talk show is known for putting its guests in the hot seat. It is the kind of show that can make or break a political campaign in the minds of Quebec voters.
Take Jean Charest. Quebec's premier took a beating when he appeared on the show late last year.
Host Guy A. Lepage bluntly reminded Charest of his extraordinary unpopularity and another guest gave the premier a tongue-lashing for his stubbornness.
But it was the show's "jester," Dany Turcotte, who dealt Charest the biggest blow.
Turcotte gives each guest a card to read. His card for Charest urged viewers to sign a petition asking the premier to resign so he can "finally take a well-deserved, long vacation."
Charest did not look amused.
Ignatieff has also found grief on Tout le monde en parle. His assertion that Israel committed a war crime during its conflict with Hezbollah in 2006 cost him support during his first run at the Liberal crown that year. Stephane Dion went on to win the leadership.
But the show can also make a politician. Just ask Jack Layton.
The NDP leader saw his popularity in the province rise after turning in a solid performance on the show.
Some polls put Layton's party ahead of the Liberals and Bloc Quebecois in Quebec. The New Democrats are now giddily weighing the prospect of expanding their Quebec beachhead beyond the lone Montreal seat they hold.
Canadians who aren't familiar with Tout Le Monde En Parle might not grasp its popularity in Quebec. Every week the expansive talk show draws the equivalent of what would be an Academy Awards-sized audience in the rest of Canada.
Bloc Leader Gilles Duceppe has been on the show. Conservative Leader Stephen Harper has turned down repeated requests to appear.
And so Ignatieff hopes his appearance on Tout Le Monde En Parle will woo Quebecers into the Liberal fold. But with the campaign now entering in its final week, time is running out. During a campaign stop Saturday in Halifax, the Liberal leader acknowledged it's getting down to the wire.
"We've entered the most interesting and decisive period of the campaign," Ignatieff told reporters, "and it's all to play for."
Ignatieff's itinerary holds some clues about the Liberals' mindset going into Week 5.
He spent part of Saturday campaigning in New Democrat Megan Leslie's Halifax riding before rallying on Prince Edward Island in Conservative cabinet minister Gail Shea's Egmont seat.
Sunday he campaigns in staunchly Liberal downtown Toronto before heading across the province to NDP-held Thunder Bay. Then it's west to British Columbia where increasingly it's a battle between the Conservatives and New Democrats.
The Liberals are trying to avoid a left-right squeeze by training their advertising firepower on the NDP.
The Grits launched an attack ad Sunday against Layton over his party's platform. The English-only spot also claims the New Democrats are running a crop of inexperienced candidates, and goes after the party for its stance on the long-gun registry.
