Party Leader Michael Ignatieff made the pledge Saturday as Prime Minister Stephen Harper asked the governor general to dissolve Parliament and set May 2 as the date for a general election, the country's third since 2006 when Harper's conservatives took office as a minority government.
Harper has suggested that there is a hidden agenda among the the opposition parties to form a coalition.
He is hoping that despite the denials from the Liberals, the idea would stick in the minds of Canadians since the Liberals, the New Democrats (NDP) and the separatist Bloc Quebecios (BQ) had put together a coalition in 2008 to unseat Harper.
Harper avoided the attempt by asking the governor general to prorogue Parliament to give him time to recover from a slump that could have seen a parliamentary coup against him.
That happened before Ignatieff took over the leadership of the Liberals. He rejected the coalition when he became leader and has been consistent on that.
In a written statement before kicking off his campaign, the Liberal leader said, "We will not enter a coalition with other federalist parties."
He added, "In our system, coalitions are a legitimate constitutional option. However, I believe that issue-by-issue collaboration with other parties is the best way for minority Parliaments to function.
"We categorically rule out a coalition or formal arrangement with the Bloc Québécois."
However, Ignatieff said if Canadians return a minority parliament he would work issue by issue with other parties.
The idea of any coalition involving the BQ is a touchy subject for most Canadians since the agenda of the party, which represents only the French-speaking province of Quebec, is to break up the country.
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