Tonight the NDP campaign wraps early. Early these days is 8 p.m.

Rosemary Barton

We flew from Sudbury, Ont., to Montreal so Jack Layton could do exactly one event.

As I write this, he is on his way to the taping of the Quebec show Tout le monde en parle (which airs on Radio-Canada).

In case you don't know, the show is sort of a big deal in Quebec.

As many as one million to two million Quebecers tune into the entertainment talk show every Sunday.

So far, both Stéphane Dion and Gilles Duceppe have both appeared.

The only problem: the show tapes for hours, at least two if not more.

It turns into a social gathering. Wine is poured. There are lots of laughs. Sometimes there are some tough questions. Often the whole group of guests then go out for dinner to some fantastic Montreal restaurant.

Then, the show's host, Guy A. Lepage, takes a couple of days to cut hours of footage down into two hours of something more manageable.

What's it all mean?

Layton gets a chance to talk to a lot of Quebecers just days before voting day.

And he may very well be very tired tomorrow morning.

Reporters (including yours truly) won't be able to see it until Sunday. Just like the rest of you.

—Rosemary Barton