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Stephen Harper is urging Toronto-area residents to vote Conservative so his party can do more for Canada's economic heartland. Recent polls have shown Tory support rising in key Ontario ridings.

Pointing to new infrastructure in southern Ontario communities like Pickering, and a federally-funded extension of Highway 407, Harper said his government has already made "prudent" investments in the province.

"We need a strong team of Conservative MPs from the GTA in Ottawa to make it happen," he said.

According to a Strategic Counsel poll released to CTV and the Globe and Mail this week, the Conservatives are poised to win in 17 of the province's 20 closest ridings.

The poll also shows evidence those gains come at the expense of the Liberals.

Hitting back at Liberal accusations that a Conservative victory would pull the country into deficit, Harper trumpeted his government's economic track record and said his party is the safest choice for a country facing a rocky economic future.

He noted that since coming into power in 2006, the party has reduced the country's debt by $40 billion while managing to cut taxes.

Harper also said that, so far this year, his government's books are safely in the black with a surplus of $3 billion.

"We promised to reduce taxes and we delivered," he said, adding his party's GST cuts were accomplished three years ahead of schedule.

Meanwhile, Liberal Leader Stephane Dion also campaigned in southern Ontario

Saturday, working to shore up sliding support. He also announced he would be making a surprise campaign stop in Toronto on Sunday.

Dion blasted Harper on what he called divisive campaign tactics and promised to protect regional jobs. He said he watched last night's presidential debate in the U.S. and neither candidate attacked the others' loyalty to his country.

"None of them accused the other one of cheering for a recession," he said, referring to a comment Harper made about him earlier in the week.

Dion said that's not what has been happening in Canadian politics, where he said critics of some aspects of the Afghan mission have been labeled "pro-Taliban" by the Tories in Parliament.

He also said he's had enough of tactics which question candidates' dedication to Canada, pointing out that Harper said Dion's "Green Shift" carbon emissions plan threatened the country's national stability.

"A threat to Canadian unity! Can you imagine that," an exasperated Dion said at a rally where he was flanked by local candidates and Deputy Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff.

In a question-and-answer session after the rally, Dion called such political posturing a "low blow."

Dion also promised that a Liberal government would ensure jobs stayed in Ontario and around the country.

He said Canadians face "a choice of society" in this election. He said the Tories want to put more people in jails, while the Liberals want to bolster support for healthcare, education, and job creation.

"When you put more people in jail, it doesn't mean that the population will be safer, it's simplistic to think this way," he said, adding that the Conservative plan will increase the prison population by 7,000 people.

The Liberals are also touting a $1-billion fund to help support Ontario's ailing manufacturing sector as they campaign in southwestern Ontario.

Layton in B.C.

While the Liberals and Conservatives battled it out in Ontario, NDP Leader Jack Layton launched an attack against the Tories in British Columbia.

"We're going to kick Stephen Harper out and put the Jack Layton New Democrats in," Layton told a crowd in Vancouver.

He also responded to accusations from Harper that a NDP government would be bad news for the Canadian economy in a time of global uncertainty.

"If average families are looked after, if they can pay their bills, if they can meet their monthly mortgage payments and keep they jobs, the banks will be just fine," he said.

"Let's get the fundamentals right for Canadian families."

He also attacked the Conservatives for the softwood lumber agreement, which he called a "raw deal" that cost too many local logging jobs.

"The New Democrats will stop trade deals that sell out Canadian workers," he said, adding he will boost skill-training for workers, fight climate change and offer nation-wide childcare.

"I'll tell you one thing, as prime minister, Jack will be watching your back."

The Strategic Counsel's Peter Donolo told Â鶹ӰÊÓnet Saturday that the Liberals are losing ground to both the Conservatives and the Greens.

"So they've got to claw back that vote both on the right and the left (which is) difficult to do simultaneously," he said.

Donolo added that Dion's Green Shift plan, which was already a difficult policy to explain to Canadians, has been tripped up by the leader's lack of salesmanship.

"Mr. Dion is a hard sell in a lot of the corners of the country, and his Green Shift has not landed well with these people."