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Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion turned up the rhetoric against his chief rival Monday, calling Conservative Leader Stephen Harper a liar in seldom-used blunt language as Day 2 of the election campaign got under way.

The day started early, and not exactly smoothly: A 6 a.m. Tory press conference to launch new attack advertisements was largely ignored, while Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty declined to endorse his federal counterpart.

And Green Party Leader Elizabeth May will not be allowed to take part in the leaders debate this election campaign, after other parties vowed not to take part if the Ms. May was invited.

The broadcast consortium will issue their decision this afternoon. The French language debate will take place Wednesday Oct. 1 and the English language debate will be Thursday Oct. 2.

On the matter of the Green Party, the consortium of broadcasters will issue the following statement: “The Consortium approached the parties to explore the possibility of including the Green Party in all or part of the Leaders' Debates. However, three parties opposed their inclusion and it became clear that if the Green Party were included, there would be no Leaders' Debates. In the interest of Canadians, the Consortium has determined that it is better to broadcast the debates with the four major party leaders, rather than not at all.”

But it was the exchange between the Mr. Dion and Mr. Harper that largely dominated the day.

Mr. Dion told a small campaign rally on Montreal's south shore that Mr. Harper had grossly misrepresented a number of Liberal policies, in particular the carbon tax Green Shift plan.

Mr. Dion is promoting the plan, which would tax greenhouse-gas-emitting activities and provide offsetting tax breaks on income and savings, at each stop on his campaign and urged Canadians to look at the plan and reach their own decision before the Oct. 14 vote.

“Go and look at the plan yourself. Go and look at those tax cuts,” Mr. Dion said during a campaign stop in Saint-Lambert, Que., which was meant to be having a by-election today. “We want to focus on social justice, as well as the environment. [Mr.] Harper wants to pit one against the other.”

Mr. Dion also wants the Conservatives to refrain from transferring national Conservative campaign expenses to the individual candidates the way they did in the last election – the practice is currently under investigation by Elections Canada – and stop misrepresenting Liberal policy.

Mr. Harper, campaigning in a Liberal-friendly riding in Richmond, B.C., used more diplomatic language, but the message was equally clear.

“That is not credible,” Mr. Harper said of Mr. Dion's pledge that the carbon tax would have no impact on taxpayers. “Every politician in history who promises a new tax says that it's temporary or revenue neutral. That is never true.”

Mr. Harper also noted that Mr. Dion voted against the Conservative plan to cut the GST, and accused him of promising to restore it to its original levels.

“Mr. Dion voted twice against cutting the GST, and said afterward he would raise it again. If he's saying otherwise now, that's not credible. That's not borne out by the facts.” The Conservative website only quotes Mr. Dion as saying he would “consider” raising the GST.

In Alberta, New Democrat Leader Jack Layton called for preventing further expansion of the province's tar-sands development as part of his pitch for voter support in the oil-rich West. He is also promising to force big oil companies to clean up and reclaim the land that has been strip-mined for petroleum production.

The arguments play better in environmentally sensitive Central Canada – particularly Quebec – than in Alberta, where much of the wealth and economy are built on the tar sands.

Mr. Harper “seems to want to subsidize those big companies at the same time as they gouge everybody at the pump,” Mr. Layton said.

Bloc Québécois Leader Gilles Duceppe did some political soul-searching, admitting he was still baffled by the Conservative surge in that city in the last election.

Mr. Duceppe told reporters he has not yet figured out what happened almost three years ago in the provincial capital, where he lost all but one seat.

“I'm not too sure. There might have been a groundswell at the time, people thinking they would try something else,” Mr. Duceppe said. “... We take nothing for granted, we will work very hard.”

And Ms. May was defending herself against Conservative claims that she's a Grit in disguise, reiterating that she should be included in the leaders debate.

But even as Ms. May vehemently denied she is co-operating with the Liberals, an e-mail surfaced showing Ms. May cheering on a Liberal candidate. Her office insists the e-mail is not an endorsement but rather a show of support for someone getting involved in politics.

The strong words on the second day of the election campaign came hours after the Tories launched a series of new attack ads, depicting Mr. Dion as a risky choice who “would make everything more expensive” for Canadians.

The morning press conference to launch the ads was largely ignored by major television broadcasters. Conservative MPs Jason Kenney and Lawrence Cannon made no substantive policy announcements, and instead targeted Mr. Dion and the Green Shift plan.

Reporters bypassed the now-standard attacks and instead questioned the two candidates on gas prices, tax policy and purported attempts to muzzle Tory candidates.

With reports from Jane Taber, Daniel LeBlanc, Gloria Galloway and Bill Curry