In its length, in its cost and in its debate schedule, this election is unusual. The first and possibly only real debate of the campaign ended and here are the highlights of what happened.

The business audience Prime Minister Stephen Harper was talking to in New York wasn’t the only thing that was lacking. He has failed to act on his harsh words during the Ukraine crisis and he has lied about Canada’s involvement in Iraq. It is clear Harper has not only lost credibility at home, but more disturbingly, abroad.

The Harper government is being praised for its extra $3.5 billion investment in international maternal health but a UN report finds aboriginal communities are in a state of crisis. As if this wasn’t bad enough, the Harper government has dedicated an extra $4 million in advertising veterans programs that they can’t be bothered to fund – leading to the wife of a veteran with PTSD’s plea, “we’re nothing to you.”

Prime Minister Stephen Harper wrapped up his annual Northern Tour yesterday dodging the media and blocking Chinese journalist Li Xue Jiang from asking a question.

American fugitive Nathan Jacobson is on his way to an American prison after being arrested yesterday, not without embedding himself with the Harper government first.

Emails show Canadian diplomats and military officials were instructed to downplay the scathing report from the Auditor General which outlined the Government’s waste in the F-35 project when speaking with foreign officials. At one point, they were told to blame it on “bureaucratic” issues.

Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird is under scrutiny after CTV news learned he and six buddies had a vacation at the official residence of Canada’s High Commissioner to Great Britain. The scrutiny intensified as we learned Baird used tax-payer owned assets in New York on two separate occasions for vacation use.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper went to Europe to hammer out an EU-Canada free trade agreement and to escape the growing scandals that have plagued his government. However, when Harper went to speak to the British Parliament, he was not only met with protests, British parliamentarians were unimpressed with his speech.

Two days after Conservative ads were deemed to be failed, Prime Minister Stephen Harper took it upon himself to use the Boston Marathon terrorist attack as an opportunity to attack Liberal leader Justin Trudeau.  The bombing led to 3 deaths, including that of an eight year old boy. Harper made the comments unprompted at Margret Thatcher’s ceremonial funeral in England. Trudeau accused Harper of politicizing a tragedy.

NDP leader Thomas Mulcair and Prime Minister Stephen Harper are exchanging fire over speeches Mulcair recently made to the business community in Washington and New York that outlines a critical view of the current direction of the current government. Harper claims Mulcair is “trash talking” Canada while Mulcair points to Harper’s past. Meanwhile, how true is Mulcair’s pitch about the banking system?