Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff is taking aim at the Conservatives' ethics and spending habits, as opposition parties prepare for two potential election triggers.
The government will unveil its federal budget Tuesday, setting up a later vote on the document.
But an election could also be sparked as early as Friday, if the parties vote on whether the government should be held in contempt of Parliament -- the Conservatives are accused of withholding the costs of its crime bills.
Speaking to CTV's Question Period on Sunday, Ignatieff accused Prime Minister Stephen Harper of spending taxpayers' money "like a drunken sailor" for partisan gain.
He pointed to a recent round of government announcements to promote spending on social housing, crime prevention, and other projects totalling more than $1 billion.
"Count up all the things he went across the country promoting last week -- it's a billion dollars," Ignatieff told Question Period.
"That pattern of waste and highly partisan spending, just to win an election, I think destroys his credibility as an economic manager," said Ignatieff.
But he side-stepped repeated questions on whether his party would use either Tuesday's budget or a vote on contempt charges to trigger an election.
"I honestly don't know what's going to happen this week but I'm ready for anything. We could go (to the polls) this week or next year," he said.
Ignatieff was himself recently accused of promising taxpayers' money to garner political gain, after musing last week that his party might fund a hockey arena in Quebec City if they formed the next government.
He said the arena would serve a cultural purpose, although the city would use the space in its attempt to lure back an NHL team. Harper has said the government should not fund an NHL arena.
Pollster Nik Nanos said recently that whether the Government falls on the budget or issues of its transparency could make a big difference at the ballot box.
The prime minister would undoubtedly prefer to frame the vote around his government's handling of the economy, while the opposition would rather focus on his perceived abuse of power, said Nanos.
