The Pollcast: Trump and Clinton finally face-off

The CBCPollcast, hosted by CBC poll analyst ric Grenier, explores the world of electoralpolitics,political polls and the trends they reveal.

On Monday night, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton will take part in the first presidential debate. The confrontation comes at a time when the polls are showing a tightening race.

And depending on who uses the platform best, the debate could set the tone for the remaining 46 days of this unpredictable campaign.

• Presidential Poll Tracker: Follow the latest projections
• Podcasts: Subscribe to the CBCPollcast

The debate will be held on Monday night at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York. Hosted by the NBC's Lester Holt, the 90-minute affair will tackle three topics: America's Direction, Achieving Prosperity, and Securing America.

What do Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump need to do to come out of the debate in a stronger position than when they went in? What pitfalls and traps do they need to avoid?

And what impact will the absence of the Libertarians' Gary Johnson and the Greens' Jill Stein, who combined have over 10 per cent support in the polls, have on their numbers, and the narrow gap separating Trump from Clinton?

To help set up the debate, Keith Boag, the CBC's senior reporter in Washington, D.C., joins Pollcasthost ric Grenier.

The CBC Election Pollcast16:04Trump and Clinton finally face-off

To set it the first debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, ric Grenier is joined by the CBC's senior reporter in Washington, D.C., Keith Boag.

Listen to the full discussion above or subscribe to the CBCPollcast and listen to past episodes.

Follow ric Grenierand Keith Boagon Twitter.