Between now and the start of September, Ignatieff will visit every province and territory bringing various Liberal MPs, senators, local candidates and Young Liberals along with him.

He says the goal is to give Canadians an opportunity to hear what he has to say, while listening to their ideas and concerns.

"I want to talk and listen to Canadians, I want to show them my ideas of a progressive, compassionate alternative to this government and listen to what they have to say," he told CTV's Canada AM from Ottawa on Tuesday morning.

Ignatieff said he believes "you've got to earn the right to be a government, you've got to show Canadians an alternative that they can believe in."

For these reasons, he will be spelling out the ways his party would prefer to manage the country's interests -- and the ways the Liberals differ from the Conservatives.

"I think we want to be a country where we're building more schools than we're building prisons. Where we're investing in learning and training and education, rather than corporate tax cuts the country can't afford," Ignatieff said.

Ignatieff sums it up as compassionate country that is led by a fiscally responsible government: "Where we're trying to rebuild Canada's role in the world, not with a 72-hour photo opportunity that cost $1 billion and shut down the whole city, but where we're working to create those networks of influence across the world…and build those networks so we can re-conquer markets and influence and get Canadian ideas out across the world." Continued...