It's maintenant or never for Franois Legault

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There's no time like the present and, if you're Franois Legault, it's "le go" time for real.

The final debate, airing on TVA, starts at 8 p.m. tonight, and it's the last chance the candidates have to show they're the one for the job.

Whose time is now? We'll soon find out. Here's what you need to know on day 29.

The Breakout

By Bernard St-Laurent, @B_STLAURENT

It's the most important day of Franois Legault's life.

If he does not win the third and final debate tonight, and win convincingly, the downward spiral is going to continue.

The latest polls show the Coalition Avenir Qubec's lead is narrowing, and the Liberals are catching up, inch by inch.

Tonight, Legault wants to look like a premier, and the first thing you need to do is put yourself in the mindset of a premier. Lower your voice. Appear to be calm and, when you criticize, do it much in the way that Philippe Couillard has been doing it in a critical way but without screaming at the other candidate. That just turns people off.

This volatility for the CAQ started with the French debate at Radio-Canada a week ago. Legault was running a good campaign and appeared to be low-key. The night of the debate, he fell into his old pattern. He looked angry.

I don't care what anybody says, those kinds of performances affect people. To a certain extent, the question of the campaign has now gone from "Do you want to get rid of the Liberals?" to "Do you want Legault to be premier?"

At this point, the CAQ has a huge problem in front of it. People are questioning and having second thoughts,and the Liberals are moving up.

At the end of the day, if things don't change, we could belooking at a minority CAQ government. But if the downward spiral continues, all bets are off.

The Breakdown

• Couillard may have to eat his words after saying he thinks it's realistic to spend $75 on weekly groceries for one adult and two teenage children.Couillard later clarified it would not be easy, but it is possible. But his rivals pounced on the apparent gaffe. Legault said he spends around $250 per week on groceries for his familyand accused Couillard of being out of touch. Manon Mass challenged Couillard to try on live on what she called "peanuts."
• Jean-Franois Lise hedged his answer, saying he eats out a lot and was not sure about how much it costs to feed a family of that size. But he did confirm he knows how much a dozen eggs costs.
• Another poll came out today, showing a shifting electoral landscape. Earlier in the day, Lise said voters' intentions are "extremely fluid," and it feels like it's day one of the campaign all over again.

The Trail: Dispatches from the Road

By Amanda Pfeffer, in Outaouais,@onthebeat1

For the first time in what, 40 years? the Liberal lock on West Quebec could be under threat by the Coalition Avenir Qubec in the Papineau riding.

Papineau includes communities like Montebello and Buckingham think roadside veggie stands, small-town casse-crote lunch counters and a ton of generosity.

When we caught up with CAQ candidateMathieu Lacombe, he was using his charm and humour to coax a town worker in Saint-Andr-Avellin to return his roadside sign after it had been removed from an illegal spot.

"You know, these are expensive," he told me, holding it out triumphantly at the end of the exchange.

Folks recognize Lacombe, a former TVA news anchor, before he opens his mouth. "Mathieu!" someone yells at him from a passing car.

And residents here are ready to give him an earful about the need for change jobs, health care, services, the rural top three.

He ends the meeting with a hopeful, "I hope we can count on your support..."

But when I move in to ask the voters whether they will vote for the CAQ, I'm getting a lot of,"Moi, ben... je ne sais pas..."

It's not clear at all whether the CAQ has sealed the deal here.

The Race

Despite the virtually non-existent gap between the CAQ and the Liberals, the CAQ remains the favourite to win the most seats, largely due to its lead among francophones. Both the Liberals and the PQ have made modest gains since the beginning of the campaign, while Qubec Solidaire has jumped significantly and is now poised to win seats off of the island of Montreal for the first time ever.

No more time for time-outs. This race is on and there's no slowing down now.

As always, if you have questions or feedback, you can reach us at ballotbrief@cbc.ca or give us a shout on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

la prochaine,

-Melinda Dalton, social media editor