Harper also took aim at Alberta’s NDP Premier, Rachel Notley, and federal New Democrat lawmakers, who he called ineffective.

But there appears to be no love lost between Mr. Harper and Elections Canada, particularly after the Tories tinkered with changes to Elections Canada legislation that do not fully address concerns regarding election fraud. Harper is blaming lower oil prices and global weakness for the slump, and claiming the economy will soon recover. He said the government approved the Northern Gateway pipeline proposed to run to Kitimat, with more than 200 conditions because “that’s how the system works”.

“We know who Canada’s childcare experts are, it is not the bureaucracy, it is not the daycare lobbyists – their names are mom and dad”, Harper said.

So what if you like what the guy in red has to say in your riding, but you’ve always preferred yourself in blue?

All Harper had to do was fend off the punches and ensure there was no definitive news clip that could be played and replayed showing him being smashed to the mat by any of his three opponents.

Greens leader Elizabeth May made it clear her party is against expanding Canada’s pipelines.

And those party coffers are being used to broadcast attack ads that are, well, very un-Canadian, mocking Trudeau as not being up to the job of running Canada, and ending with a quip: “Nice hair though”.

Blunting Mulcair’s recent surge in the polls was a primary objective for the Liberals, so Trudeau hammered away at the NDP leader’s support for the so-called Sherbrooke Declaration of 2005, which endorses the principle of recognizing a referendum victory by the sovereigntist ‘Yes’ side even by a majority of just 50 per cent plus one.

In his second public appearance of the campaign in Quebec on Tuesday, Mulcair made reference to his party’s opposition to the draconian and anti-democratic Bill C-51, which he vowed to repeal upon coming to power.

And it worked, because Mulcair went into this debate directly behind Harper in the polls, and debate exposure has given Elizabeth May a bump in popularity. A Liberal Party that stays in third place will help vote splits in dozens of ridings across the country break their way – and give Harper an historic fourth term in office.

Mulcair can’t change this position, which he inherited from Jack Layton, who adopted it in 2006 in an attempt to appeal to the soft nationalists who backed the Bloc Quebecois.

“When a prime minister chooses to send men and women of the Canadian forces into harm’s way, there has to be a clear plan”.

The video, which has already been widely mocked both on Twitter as well as by the NDP leader himself, opens with Harper giving Canadians a look into some information they may not have known about him previously, that he loves watching movies, and television for that matter, according to CTV News.

Harper warned changing government would only undermine the nation’s economy.

Mulcair blasted Harper for failing to protect the manufacturing sector and safeguard jobs throughout the country.

“He’s added $150 billion to Canada’s debt in the last 10 years”, Mulcair said.

In regard to Mr. Duffy, said Mr. Harper, “as soon as I learned about this particular matter, we brought in the authorities”.