WINNIPEG—Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff says Stephen Harper’s refusal to join in a one-on-one debate shows that the Conservative leader cannot be trusted.

Harper is now “backing out” of the debate, Ignatieff told reporters during a campaign stop in Winnipeg.

“Less than 24 hours ago, he was saying, ‘Let’s go into the ring, toe-to-toe, head to head,’ and I said, ‘Look, I’m willing to do that, provided that other leaders participate in a regular debate.’ I don’t want anybody excluded (from debates).”

“And now he’s turned around. You can’t trust this man,” Ignatieff said. “This is about respect for the democratic process. I think Canadians would like such a debate. I’m willing to go anywhere, anytime (to debate Harper) and I repeat that.

“But if he’s kind of walking away, that tells you what you want to know about whether you can believe this man,” Ignatieff said.

Harper is rejecting Ignatieff’s call for a one-on-one debate, saying he’s more interested in campaigning on the road.

Just 24 hours after saying he’d like to square off against Ignatieff, Harper now says the idea is dead.

“We were open to all kinds of options. Our first preference was a direct debate with the leader of the coalition. Mr. Ignatieff insisted that his first preference was to have his coalition partners with him at the debate,” Harper told reporters during a campaign stop in Halifax.

“That’s the format that was proposed. We’ve accepted it,” Harper said.

While the networks have scheduled traditional debates involving all parliamentary leaders on April 12 and April 14, Ignatieff said he’s still ready to face off against Harper one-on-one, as the Conservative first proposed.

But Harper shut the door on the idea Thursday.

“We’re not interested in multiple debates. We were interested in one debate. Our first preference was clear. If Ignatieff wanted that debate, he could have chosen that debate but he didn’t,” the Conservative leader said.

“We’re going to spend the rest of our time campaigning across the country,” he said.

Meanwhile in Montreal on Thursday, NDP Leader Jack Layton said he remains disappointed Green Party Leader Elizabeth May will not be at the debating table, but said he has accepted the invitation and said the New Democrats agree with the format.

“We’re going to be there to take on Stephen Harper, because somebody has got to it,” said Layton, running through a list of Conservative policies the Liberals have supported, such as the training mission in Afghanistan.

Asked whether he was relieved the additional one-on-one debate between Harper and Ignatieff is no longer an option, Layton suggested he was disappointed at not getting his own separate debate.

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“I was hoping that maybe I could have a one-on-one debate with Mr. Harper, so I don’t know,” Layton said. “I was kind of looking forward to that possibility, but he hasn’t accepted the challenge.”

With files from Joanna Smith.

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