If campaigns matter then a campaign called in the midst of a pandemic means healthcare really matters. So as week two of the federal campaign gets rolling it should be no surprise the leaders are fielding questions about their healthcare positions.

Today Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau stepped up with a promise of more money, yes billions more, to fund more doctors and health workers. Trudeau was in Halifax where, just last week, the Nova Scotia Progressive Conservatives rode the healthcare issue to a surprise majority win.

But today Trudeau was forced to play some defense too. The federal Conservatives found an opening to go on the attack. The party sent two letters to Elections Canada accusing the Liberals of manipulating a year-old video of Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole regarding privatizing health care. And then Twitter agreed and called out the tweet from the account of Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland. Twitter said the edited video of Erin O’Toole on private healthcare was “manipulated media.”

Elections Canada is left to consider the video and what, if anything, to do about it. But O’Toole accused the Liberals of “importing American style misleading politics. O’Toole was asked a number of questions about his position on privatized health care but didn’t use the word “privatize” in any of his answers. He stuck to his message: a Conservative government will spend $60 billion on increasing healthcare transfers to the provinces.

“I support our public and universal system full stop,” O’Toole said.

Trudeau fended off questions about the alleged editing of O’Toole’s remarks, telling Canadians the Liberals posted the full, unedited video and to watch it and judge for themselves.

“We've seen Erin O’Toole double down on his belief in a two-tiered private for profit system,” Trudeau said.

The Liberal Party decided to send out the allegedly manipulated clip to party members in an email seeking campaign donations.

Jagmeet Singh was in Montreal and he was happy to pile on over this mini Twittergate moment. “We've got the Liberal Party putting out misinformation, spreading it online, to the point that Twitter had to flag it,” Singh said.

And on the substance of today’s new big dollar healthcare promise the NDP accused the Liberals of “recycling a 2019 healthcare promise.”

Canadians know that COVID-19 has stressed the healthcare system to the limit. O’Toole today said Trudeau has only “pretty words” when it comes to healthcare policy. The Conservatives are reminding voters that in this campaign it is the Conservative Party with a plan, a platform. Trudeau was asked today about the Liberal platform. His answer?

“I'm excited about all the ambitious ideas we have to share with Canadians. We will share them throughout this campaign,” he said - not answering the question.

With no 2021 platform yet Trudeau is reminding voters that he has “had their backs” during the long months of COVID-19. And he always finds a way to work in that “this election is about a choice forward or backwards.”

One problem with that line is that Trudeau is asking voters to cast their minds back to the choice they made in 2011, electing the Conservatives and Stephen Harper. The Liberal slogan in 2019 was “Choose Forward” and that only won a minority. Now, running on a Liberal record, Canadians may opt to judge the last six years not way, way back to the Harper years and if that is the voter’s calculation the Liberals may need to do more than trumpet their COVID-19 response to win in 2021.