The federal leaders' debate is destined to be a feisty affair Tuesday night in Ottawa, but it will likely be even more heated given revelations surrounding the G8/G20 summit.

Monday morphed into a whirlwind political day after a leaked draft report on G8/G20 summit spending last year in Ontario alleged the Conservative government lavished millions on a prominent cabinet member's riding and "misled" Parliament.

The English TV debate - WATCH LIVE Tuesday's leaders debate runs 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. ET, and will feature one-on-one debates held in the following order: Harper - Duceppe Ignatieff - Layton Harper - Ignatieff Duceppe - Layton Ignatieff - Duceppe Layton - Harper The closing arguments will be presented in this order: Layton Duceppe Ignatieff Harper Source: The Broadcast Consortium/CNW

This led for calls from all parties for the report to be released by Auditor General Sheila Fraser, who later entered the fray to caution that only her final report will represent her audit's findings and conclusions when it is tabled in Parliament.

Tory candidate John Baird assured reporters that statements such as "Parliament was misinformed" do not appear in a later draft of the auditor general's report, which he said he had seen.

While the Conservatives spent much of the day justifying the way they handled G8 spending, Conservative candidate Tony Clement had to explain his actions in front of his voters and political rivals in his riding of Parry Sound-Muskoka on Monday night.

The two-term Conservative incumbent also asked his voters to wait until Fraser releases her final report on how the projects were approved. But he did not apologize for the actual spending done in his riding.

"Let me tell you, billions of dollars were spent across this country on roads, bridges, broadband, waterworks. you name it," Clement said.

"We got our fair share, and I'll never be ashamed of that. Parry Sounders and Muskokans deserve their fair share."

Clement's rivals were not keen on letting him avoid dealing with the issues raised in the leaked reports.

Liberal challenger Cindy Waters criticized Clement over reports of the Conservatives' spending on new sidewalks, beach toilets, and a G8 legacy sports complex. Waters, however, would not say the money should not have been spent in the riding.

"Well, that's a pretty tricky question, isn't it? I mean, this is my riding, and we're hurting badly here .… It feels a little like dirty money," Waters said.

NDP candidate Dr. Wendy Wilson accused the Conservatives of wasting millions instead of hiring more local doctors or nurses.

"What has this country come to when backroom gangsters are making these kinds of decisions?" Wilson asked at the all-candidates' meeting.

Tories forced to apologize

The Conservatives were left to apologize to Fraser for recycling an unrelated quote by her about a previous Liberal government's security spending in a separate parliamentary report on the costs of the G8/G20 summits.

Five Conservatives who were a part of the committee sent Fraser a letter on Monday, expressing their "sincere and deep regret" over the quote. The letter referred to the contentious quote as "an oversight."

The letter says the Conservatives are seeking ways to officially correct the record.

"As Parliament is currently dissolved, obviously the record cannot be changed in the House, but please accept our assurances that this will be done as soon as Parliament reconvenes for the 41st Parliament," the letter states.

"We, and our Conservative colleagues, have the utmost respect for you, your work, and your office. We apologize unreservedly. We hope to find a mutually acceptable solution in short order."

The Liberals were not without their own issues on Monday as it was revealed André Forbes, the Quebec Liberal who once called First Nations people "featherheads" and "lazy," is staying in the election race as an Independent.

He will still be on the ballot as a Liberal, because he's not stepping down, and the party can't fire him now that he's been nominated.

The developments have likely sent those preparing the leaders for the debate back to the drawing board.

How the leaders will prepare

Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff, Conservative Leader Stephen Harper, NDP Leader Jack Layton and Bloc Québécois Leader Gilles Duceppe will each have a strategy in mind when the debate begins at 7 p.m. ET at the Government Conference Centre in downtown Ottawa.

Green Party Leader Elizabeth May was left out of the debate after the broadcast consortium, which includes CBC and Radio-Canada, decided to invite only the leaders whose parties are represented in the House of Commons.

Scott Reid, a communications strategist and adviser to former prime minister Paul Martin, said on Power & Politics with Evan Solomon that during preparation the leaders will be surrounded by trusted advisers and others who have been working on the debate for a number of months.

They are working on their messages and content, and will have a "message book" that will help them be ready for every possible scenario. There were also some in-studio rehearsals that are taking place, said Reid.

"They’ve probably been doing that since the weekend," he said. "That’s to give them a sense of comfort with the actual format of the debate, with the actual technical performance making certain that they work out all the bugs before the lights go up."

The process itself can be like getting ready for a fight, in this case a martial arts scrap, said Reid.

"Often when you’re preparing the leader you’ll take a set of issues and say this is where the other guys might put a punch on us. And we are going to try to have a judo card. A judo card literally in the parlance of martial arts: use the other person's attack against you," said Reid.

"You know it's coming. You know you're going to get hit with it. So how can you take that punch, turn it around, and use their own attack against them?"

The French leaders' debate was to be held Thursday but was moved to Wednesday night as the Montreal Canadiens open the NHL playoffs against the Boston Bruins on Thursday night.