Ignatieff, Harper campaign in New Brunswick

Conservative Leader Stephen Harper and Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff headed east to New Brunswick on Day 26 of the campaign, while Jack Layton tried to shore up NDP support in Ontario.

Harper started Wednesday in Quebec at a campaign event with area candidates in Rivière-du-Loup, before heading to New Brunswick.

Harper continued to pitch the need for a majority government, seizing on Ignatieff's comments to CBC News on Tuesday about how the Liberals could still form a government if a minority Parliament were returned after the May 2 election.

"This is not an abstract constitutional debate. This is a very real choice facing the voters," Harper said.

"Mr. Ignatieff, Mr. Layton and Mr. Duceppe are all increasingly clear. If they have a minority Parliament, they will in some manner try and get together and form a government."

The Conservative leader said it is unknown what an Ignatieff-led minority government would focus on. But Harper said it would lead to "higher spending and tax hikes, and it points to renewed fighting over referendums, constitutions and national unity."

The Conservative leader was to appear later in Edmundston, N.B., with Bernard Valcourt, the former Brian Mulroney cabinet minister who is seeking to return to federal politics in the northwestern riding of Madawaska-Restigouche.

Valcourt is often remembered for a serious motorcycle accident in which he lost his right eye. After losing in the 1993 election, Valcourt served as the New Brunswick Progressive Conservative leader.

Harper was then scheduled to move on to Fredericton, another New Brunswick riding that the Conservatives wrestled away from the Liberals in 2008.

Ignatieff will spend Wednesday morning in Saint John, including a meeting with local Liberals and an appearance at a museum.

The Liberals lost the southern New Brunswick riding to the Conservatives in 2008 by fewer than 500 votes. The Liberals have the deputy mayor of Saint John running in the riding.

Ignatieff said in an interview with CBC News last week the Liberals would be willing to cover some of the estimated $1 billion in cost overruns at the Point Lepreau nuclear refurbishment project. Atlantic Canada's only nuclear reactor is located roughly 30 kilometres west of Saint John.

The Liberal leader will then head to Yarmouth, N.S., for a campaign rally in the evening.

During a campaign stop at a farm in Essex, Ont., New Democrat Party Leader Jack Layton talked about his party’s plan to help farmers.

Layton said his party would help farmers cope with rising costs and make risk-management programs more accessible.

He also highlighted his party’s plan to help young farmers with skills training and mentorship programs.

"My plan will reverse years of neglect, fix income stability programs and give farmers the support they need to thrive and grow," Layton said in a statement.

The NDP leader was set to head north to Thunder Bay, Ont., later in the day, where he was scheduled to attend a town hall event.

Bloc Québécois Leader Gilles Duceppe meets with local media in Farnham, Que., Wednesday morning, followed by a visit to a textile centre in Saint-Hyacinthe and a factory tour in Drummondville. He wraps the day with a rally in Quebec City in the evening.

Green Party Leader Elizabeth May heads back to B.C., where she is battling incumbent Conservative Gary Lunn in the Saanich-Gulf Islands riding.

May will meet with citizens on disability issues in Saanich and attend a chamber of commerce all-candidates meeting in Sidney, B.C., in the evening.

In an exclusive interview with CBC News on Tuesday, Ignatieff said he would be willing to form a government if the Conservative Party wins the most seats in the election but fails to win the confidence of Parliament.

In the interview with CBC's Peter Mansbridge, Ignatieff said he would try to form a government if called upon by the Governor General.

It is the closest Ignatieff has come to describing how he could become prime minister since his vow on the first day of the campaign renouncing a coalition with the NDP and the Bloc Québécois.

Harper said Ignatieff is finally admitting he is open to trying to become prime minister with the support of the NDP and the Bloc.