Party leaders make final push as campaigns wind down

The main party leaders spent Saturday morning touting their plans for the country and attacking one another as the federal election campaign approaches its conclusion.

In Aurora, Ont., Liberal leader Justin Trudeau focused on touting his government's pandemic response and housing plan.

"We looked at the housing crisis and we said, okay, what kind of measures can we apply to the housing crisis with the same intensity and urgency we did on the pandemic?" he said.

Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole, his main competitor in the polls, was the one in his crosshairs Saturday morning. Trudeau criticized O'Toole on mandatory vaccinations â€" including for Conservative Party candidates who may not have been vaccinated.

WATCH | Asked why he is limiting questions, O'Toole defends his campaign

Trudeau asked if this is his last election4 hours agoDuring a stop in Aurora, Ont., Liberal leader says he is focused on this election and is not engaging in hypothetical scenarios about the outcome of voting day. 1:04

"Mr. O'Toole won't respect the science, won't respect people who want to get back to normal, and take even the simplest step of demanding that all his candidates be vaccinated to lead by example," Trudeau said.

"He's defending the freedoms and the choice of anti-vaxxers who are putting us all at risk."

O'Toole fires back

At a news conference in Dundas, Ont., O'Toole made his own pitch to voters, with a focus on the state of the economy and his economic plan.

"Prices are out of control, spending is out of control, secure jobs are harder to come by," O'Toole said.

O'Toole also took the opportunity to paint Trudeau as vain, and criticized Trudeau for the election call.

"People simply can't understand why the prime minister would call a $600 million unnecessary election in the middle of a pandemic," he said. "Justin Trudeau has no vision for Canada, other than him being at the head of it. His strategy is to divide and conquer, wedge issue after wedge issue, division, and countless broken promises."

But Trudeau wasn't the only subject of O'Toole's denunciation, as the Conservative leader also asked Canadians to choose his party over smaller parties. The right-wing People's Party of Canada, led by former Conservative Maxime Bernier, has seen a significant jump in its polling numbers this campaign.

WATCH | Trudeau asked if this is his last election

Asked why he is limiting questions, O'Toole defends his campaign3 hours agoConservative Party Leader Erin O'Toole says he's proud of the election campaign he has run so far. 1:09

"Voting for other parties that cannot win, no matter how aggrieved or angry you may feel, will not get Trudeau out," he said. "Your frustration will be double if we wake up Tuesday morning to another Justin Trudeau government."

Singh focuses on healthcare

In Saskatoon, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh opened his news conference by speaking about the toll of the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly on health-care workers.

He also took shots at Liberal and Conservative governments, saying that they have not adequately funded health care. He said an NDP government would offer more supports for the sector.

"We're going to fight to make sure you get the funds, the resources, the work conditions and the staffing levels necessary to deliver the care that you know that you can and want to deliver," he said, later attacking the Liberals and Conservatives for voting against an NDP motion that sought to abolish for-profit long-term-care homes.

He also addressed the controversy over former Fort Yorkâ€"Spadina Liberal candidate Kevin Vuong, whom the party dropped because of a past dropped charge relating to sexual misconduct.

"The Liberals took two days to decide to release or to get rid of this candidate. â€¦ It shouldn't have even taken 20 minutes," Singh said.