The two federal party leaders with seats in Montreal are facing questions about their ability to retain their own seats, and about how candidates in Montreal are selected.
Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau will be facing NDP candidate Anne Lagacé Dowson in the Papineau riding.
Trudeau had no doubts he would be re-elected, and said being a representative for his riding is the core of his duty as an MP.
"I am incredibly proud to have been a very active local MP over the past seven years, and indeed the concerns of people I have met and have the honour of representing in Papineau have found themselves directly reflected in our plan to grow the economy of the entire country," said Trudeau.
Earlier this month Beatrice Zako stepped down as the NDP candidate in Papineau after her past support for a separate Quebec came to light.
In her place Lagacé Dowson was chosen to run, against the wishes of the riding's president, Gael Chantrel, who resigned this week.
After Zako stepped down Chantrel wanted to replace her, and was hoping for a quick vote to choose a new candidate.
Instead Chantrel said his wishes were overruled, and that central members of the NDP "preferred to impose a candidate who was parachuted in, in a unilateral fashion, giving the back of the hand to my candidacy."
NDP Leader Tom Mulcair, who was campaigning across town in the riding of NDG-Wesmount to support candidate Jim Hughes, said he had no say in how the candidate for Papineau was chosen.
"We are the New Democratic Party, and I let the party instances take care of those things," said Mulcair. "I do not play any role whatsoever."
To balance or not to balance
Meanwhile both men are facing questions about federal economics.
Trudeau is pledging three years of federal deficits and $60 billion in infrastructure spending as a way to stimulate the national economy.
"I've made a choice to be upfront and honest about our situation. We are currently in Mr. Harper's eighth straight deficit. the way to get out of that deficit is not through further cuts, that's not what Canadians need," he said.
He, along with former prime minister Paul Martin, said Stephen Harper was left a considerable surplus by the previous Liberal government, but spent it quickly and then racked up years of deficits without showing any ability to actually balance a budget.
Harper has repeatedly promised to balance the budget but has not been able to do so for the past eight years.
For his part NDP Leader Tom Mulcair said an NDP government would balance the federal budget in its first year, and would not run up deficits.
He said their model of fiscal restraint and balance is in fact what sets the NDP apart. Mulcair said the debt is high enough that it must be dealt with so as not to create problems for younger Canadians in the years and decades to come.
"We are going to mark a change from past practice of deficit spending that is left to future generations to clear up and on that Mr. Trudeau has the same approach as Mr. Harper They both want to live for today and let tomorrow take care of itself. I believe in sustainable development," he said.
He said an NDP government would invest in infrastructure, but a more modest amount. He's pledging to find the finds in part by increasing the corporate tax rate.
