Stephen Harper accused the opposition of forcing an unwanted election at a time of economic uncertainty Friday, while his Liberal rival framed himself as the only alternative to the Conservatives in the upcoming election.
The speeches from the major party leaders came less than an hour after Harper's minority government was toppled by a non-confidence motion in Parliament.
"If you vote for the NDP, if you vote for the Bloc and if you vote for the Greens, you'll get more of this: more contempt for democracy, more neglect of the priorities of Canadian families," said Ignatieff, speaking in the foyer of the House of Commons.
"The only alternative to a Conservative government is a compassionate, responsible Liberal government."
Just moments before Harper and Ignatieff spoke, all three of the opposition parties voted in favour of a historic Liberal motion focusing on a committee report that the Conservatives had acted in contempt of Parliament.
Prior to Ignatieff's comments, Harper accused the opposition of forming a coalition and said he was "disappointed" that Canadians would be heading to the polls for the fourth election in only seven years.
Harper also voiced concern that the opposition had decided to dismiss the Conservative budget -- which was released this week -- outright.
"There was nothing, absolutely nothing in the budget that the opposition could not, or should not, have supported," Harper said.
"Unfortunately Mr. Ignatieff and his coalition partners in the NDP and Bloc Quebecois made abundantly that they had already decided they wanted to force an election instead."
But NDP Leader Jack Layton dismissed that claim, saying his party had "made some very practical, reasonable suggestions" for the budget.
"But sadly, Mr. Harper has demonstrated that he and his Conservatives have really no interest in working with other parties. He made a choice, and that choice was to take us into an election."
It's expected that the leaders' comments will form a blueprint for their strategies in the upcoming election campaign, as each attempt to sidestep responsibility for the vote.
Much talk has already surfaced about Conservative attacks focusing on the spectre of a "coalition" between the NDP, Bloc and Liberals if another minority House is elected.
While Ignatieff shied away from the coalition question and said Friday that he was running to lead the country, his NDP counterpart appeared to leave the door open to the scenario.
"Our record is very clear -- we do work with other parties," Layton said.
"I'm running to lead the largest party in the House of Commons and then to work with the mandate that Canadians give me, reaching out to other parties as required."
He also called the Conservative government "intransigent" and said it won't work with the other parties.
"We'll be out there working as hard as we can to defeat as many Conservatives as we can from one end of this country to the other."
Following several weeks of partisan acrimony in the House, the vote passed 156 to 145, triggering the fifth election in just over a decade.
It's expected that Harper will now visit Gov. Gen David Johnston on Saturday at 9 a.m. to ask for the dissolution of Canada's 40th Parliament, citing his defeated government's loss of parliamentary confidence.
Canadians will likely go to the polls on May 2 for a federal election, following a minimum, 36-day election campaign.
Earlier in the day, during a fiery debate in the House of Commons, Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff said the Conservatives were out of touch with the needs of Canadians.
Conservative House Leader John Baird fired back, accusing the Liberals of making a power grab through a coalition with the NDP and the Bloc Quebecois. It's expected that those attacks will frame each party's messaging in the upcoming campaign.
The non-confidence motion went to a vote at 2 p.m. following a 30 minute procedural delay.
On Wednesday, after all three parties rejected the Tories' federal budget, Ignatieff unveiled the motion that said Canadians had lost confidence in the government.
In the meantime, all of the parties have been working to get ready for a campaign, including preparations for campaign buses, candidate signs and drafting key messaging strategies.
Parties sharpen up their campaign strategies
On Friday, pollster Nik Nanos, of Nanos Research, said the main election themes for the parties had already begun to emerge.
"The one big question is, will this change anything? Or will we just have a very similar outcome.
"It's pretty clear that the government wants to articulate that their priority has to do with the economy and jobs, and the conservatives are inherently strong on that. I think it's going to be hard for the Liberals to win on that particular, which is why they're probably attacking on ethics and accountability."
Nanos added that the Liberals could try to make the Conservative leader himself the ballot issue.
"I think they want to make Stephen Harper the referendum in this election," Nanos told CTV's Power Play, referencing the Liberal focus on clarity and democracy.
Though the Conservatives have a significant lead in the polls, Nanos said that "just by dropping the writ, it's a bit of a reset button."
He also predicted that the support numbers will shift as the campaign progresses and the parties jump through potential gaffes and different strategies.
"I would expect that the numbers are going to bounce around in the next couple of weeks," said Nanos, who added that the Liberals may do well to frame a personal narrative for Ignatieff.
Nanos suggested that Canadians are still not familiar with Ignatieff and his political motivations, meaning that he has been vulnerable to Conservative attacks on his pedigree.
Still, Nanos added that it's likely the opposition leaders will gain some strength as their media profile rises over the course of the election campaign.
