The gloves are off in the Liberal leadership race, with Bob Rae accusing former college roommate Michael Ignatieff of trying to block media coverage of an all-candidates' forum.

"It seems an awful signal to have a debate that is closed to the media, closed to Canadians," Rae said in a statement issued late Saturday. "This isn't a good note on which to start this race."

He followed up with an appearance early Sunday on CTV's Question Period, where he blamed the Ignatieff camp for tying to keep a lid on the session.

"You can't have a town hall without the town," said Rae, arguing that the Liberals need to open up and renew themselves if they hope to boost public support and return to power in Ottawa.

"The Liberal party is not a private club."

Rae, Ignatieff and New Brunswick MP Dominic LeBlanc were all scheduled to appear Sunday in Toronto at a question-and-answer session before members of the executive board of the federal party's Ontario wing.

But Rae threatened to boycott the event if it was held behind closed doors. He was spotted at the event Sunday, but Leblanc said he's not planning to participate in the debate.

The Ignatieff camp said it had understood from the start that it was to be a private session, but Rae said that came as news to him. He said he and LeBlanc agreed Saturday to open the meeting up, but Ignatieff's handlers balked at the idea.

"Let's be clear: I don't set the rules. Leadership candidates don't set the rules. They were set by the party a couple of weeks ago, and I was fine with them," Ignatieff said shortly after he arrived at the Mississauga hotel where the meeting was taking place.

"The party decided, `Let's have a family discussion,' so I said fine and we'll have other discussions in future."

Leblanc, meanwhile, pounced on the chance to score some early points against the two perceived front-runners.

"Their game hasn't even started, and they're at each other's throats," Leblanc said.

"I think that's unfortunate. I think Liberals are tired of that sort of `me too' attitude. I think they expect people to be mature and open, and that's why I'm here."

Rae kept up the pressure Sunday, saying he's submitted a proposal to Liberal brass to hold a series of 13 televised and webcast debates through the leadership race.

He wants a "Debate Night in Canada" every Thursday, contending it would help generate interest in the party the same way debates between Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton helped boost the Democratic brand name in the United States.

It's the first public spat between candidates vying to replace Stéphane Dion, who announced following the party's disastrous election showing that he would step down as leader as soon as a successor can be chosen. The Liberals will make their choice at a convention in Vancouver next spring.

Many in the party had hoped to avoid the kind of sniping that characterized the hard-fought campaign in which Dion come up the middle to win as a compromise candidate in 2006, after neither Rae nor Ignatieff could take a clear majority.