Liberals ready to fight, Ignatieff says

Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff insists his party is ready to "fight for the Canada we love" amid increased speculation that Canadiansmay soon be headed to the polls for a spring election.

In a fiery campaign-style addressto the Liberal caucus in Ottawaon Tuesday, Ignatieff insisted his party was not trying to provoke an election and added he did not know when the next one would occur.

But hesaidLiberals would not be the "guarantors of the future" ofPrime Minister Stephen Harper's minority Conservative government.

"We are here to oppose and replace," he said.

Ignatieff mockedthe latest round of Conservative ads, includinga spotfeaturing Harper working late in his office.

The ads,Ignatieff said, offer a contrast between "leadership that listens and leadership that wants to impose an ideology Canadians just aren't comfortable with."

"You see this home alone guy, hasn't got any friends, doesn't get out much. I felt kind of sorry for him, really. He's not listening to anybody."

The Prime Minister's Office quickly hit back after Ignatieff's speech, saying the Liberal leader was "once again" pushing for an "unnecessary and opportunistic election."

"Our government continues to be focused on the economy, including creating jobs and economic growth and keeping taxes low," a spokeswoman wrote in an email to CBC News on Tuesday.

Pre-budget jockeying

The Tories have so far indicated they won't meet key opposition demands for the upcoming budget, including rolling back corporate tax cuts.They must secure the support of at least one opposition party to avoid a defeat of their governmentin a confidence vote inthe House ofCommons.

The Liberals have already saidthey will not support the budget unless thecorporate tax rates are restored to 2010 levels, leaving the Bloc Qubcois and New Democratic Partyas possible suitors for the Conservatives.

In his rally speech, Ignatieffdismissed the Conservatives' claims that a Liberal governmentaims toincreasethe tax burden on Canadian families by rolling back the corporate tax rates which the Tories are dubbing a "job creator tax."

"Its not going to happen," he said."Dont believe what they tell you."

The Liberal leadersaid the question of election readiness isn't about organization, platforms or planes although he notedthose thingssounded "pretty good" to him.

"There's another question, a deeper question: Are we ready to serve the people who put us here?" Ignatieff asked, then answered with shout: "The answer is yes, yes, yes."