CBC-TV's This Hour has 22 Minutes is ready for its election closeup

The CBC's This Hour has 22 Minutes is treading into new waters with its election coverage Monday night. For the first time in 23 seasons, the political satire program will record a live show on the same night as a federal election. 

Normally the half-hour comedy pre-tapes Tuesday's program on Monday night in front of a live audience in Halifax at 7 p.m. local time. This Monday the show will pre-tape at 10 p.m. while the election results are rolling in, for a broadcast the following night. 

In addition, Mark Critch will be reporting from the headquarters of NDP Leader Tom Mulcair and Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau.

Critch will do live hits with Peter Mansbridge as part of CBC Television's election coverage. He has also been contributing regular satirical columns to the Politics page on CBCNews.ca. 

The executive producer of This Hour has 22 Minutes, Peter McBain, knows a thing or two about election campaigns. 

Four years ago, during the last campaign, he led a team producing a nightly election show on CBC News Network.

Real news vs. satirical news

McBain says there's a big difference planning election coverage for 22 Minutes, observing that "a comedy show is a lot freer to point out the obvious, ridiculous and downright hypocritical things that happen during a campaign."

The 23rd season of 22 Minutes debuted on Oct. 7, with less than two weeks left in the federal campaign, and the show came out of the gate with satirical guns blazing.

Mark Critch, dressed as Mulcair, interviewing the real Mulcair with hilarious results, followed by a visit with Trudeau on his Liberal campaign bus.   

There was also a satirical take on the leaders' debate, during which principal cast member Susan Kent played Trudeau. 

She spoke about how she prepared: "Trudeau was a vid from a couple years ago when he referred to himself in the third person up on the Hill with a scrum of reporters around. He was very animated and offended at the suggestion that he didn't love Canada. I watched that video a good 10 times." 

McBain has a dream outcome for the election. "I think a Bloc Québécois majority would be hilarious. Whatever the outcome is, the dream come true for us is having so many Canadians engaged by the election. I'm hoping politics continues to interest people in the coming months — that's a political satire producer's dream come true."

Whatever the outcome of the election, expect politicians of all stripes to show up on This Hour has 22 Minutes in the weeks and months to come.