The French-language debate has been rescheduled to avoid conflict with a high-stakes Montreal Canadiens game.
Leaders will now convene at 6 p.m. EST, two hours earlier than originally planned.
Among those who called for the debate to be rescheduled was Bloc Québécois leader and staunch Canadiens supporter Yves-François Blanchet.
"I would, like anybody else, like to watch the game," he said during a press conference on Tuesday, lamenting that the Habs failed to secure a playoff spot during their tilt against Chicago the night before, "but now I believe some questions are very serious about Canada's future and Quebec's future, and maybe some attention should be given to the debate."
He expressed a desire to see the date changed, vowing to make himself available "at any moment."
NDP leader Jagmeet Singh also pointed out that perhaps it wasn't a good idea to make Canadians "choose between a critical democratic debate and cheering on the Habs in a must-win game."
"This kind of political discussion shouldn't compete with something that means so much to so many," he added.
If the Canadiens defeat the Carolina Hurricanes, they will punch their ticket to the playoffs.
This is not the first time a French-language debate has been rescheduled to at the behest of Canadiens fans. In 2011, then-Bloc Québécois leader Gilles Duceppe managed to get the time changed so people could watch the Habs take on the Boston Bruins.
The debate will be hosted by CBC and Société Radio-Canada, and streamed everywhere.
