THUNDER BAY, Ont. - Ontario's opposition leaders wasted no time slamming Dalton McGuinty for skipping Friday's leaders' debate on northern issues, but were quickly upstaged by a protester who brought a feathered friend to stand in for the missing Liberal leader.

Wearing a plaid flannel shirt and a hat with a turned-up brim, Peter Lang brandished a chicken in a pink carrying case outside the Thunder Bay hotel where the debate was being held.

"I brought it for Dalton," he cried. "Anybody see Dalton? This is Dalton's chicken!"

Lang, who hails from an area near the Kaministiquia River, said his cocky protest was fuelled by his frustration over McGuinty's refusal to participate and talk about northern issues, like unemployment.

"I'm disappointed in McGuinty who had an opportunity to talk to us about northern issues and didn't pay us the courtesy of being here, unfortunately," said Lang, who has voted Liberal and NDP in the past.

McGuinty hasn't just snubbed northern voters, but also his northern candidates and cabinet ministers, he added.

"Is he leaving them to be defeated?" Lang said. "Where is his support?"

As the debate got underway inside, the New Democrat and Progressive Conservative leaders took a few shots at each other, but reserved their deadliest darts for McGuinty.

Tory Leader Tim Hudak took aim at the MIA premier right off the bat, saying it was "disappointed" that McGuinty skipped the debate.

"But it's kind of par for the course because in northern Ontario's greatest time of need -- when we've seen 60 mill closures, more than 20,000 jobs lost in northwestern Ontario alone -- Dalton McGuinty has been AWOL: Absent Without Leave," Hudak said in his opening statement.

"And he's AWOL from the debate today."

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath launched her own stinging salvo during her closing remarks.

"The north has been taken for granted for far too long," she said.

"Instead of swinging through, waving from a bus and asking you to trust me every four years, me and my team of New Democrats will work to earn your trust every single day, and we'll give you a real voice at Queen's Park."

During the one-hour debate hosted by the Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association, the two newbie leaders were asked to respond to nine questions on issues ranging from the funding of municipal infrastructure to mining taxes and natural resource sharing with First Nations.

But there wasn't much new in their answers. Horwath and Hudak rehashed much of their election platforms, trying to avoid the rookie mistake of making rash promises that they'd be hard-pressed to keep if they gained power.

Hudak promised to help northerners cope with higher electricity bills by allowing them to opt out of time-of-use pricing with smart meters and by taking the HST off hydro bills.

Horwath blamed both the Tories and Liberals for driving up electricity rates, and promised the NDP would reunite the old Ontario Hydro, which was broken into several agencies by the Conservatives.

The tone was mostly genial between the two rivals, who seemed to prefer attacking McGuinty than each other.

But there were a few flare-ups. Hudak charged that the NDP would pile on more red tape that would strangle investment in the north, prompting Horwath to return fire.

"It's not the case as Mr. Hudak claims that our program is one of red tape and hoops, although I'm not surprised that he's familiar with our platform, because he's borrowed parts of it with taking the HST off home heating and hydro," she said.

The Liberals maintain they could not work the debate into McGuinty's campaign schedule. The Liberals launched their northern platform with little fanfare early in the campaign in Newmarket, north of Toronto.

Asked why he ducked the debate, McGuinty -- who spend the day in Toronto and Hamilton -- said his re-announced election promise to expand GO Transit service would create jobs in the north, where the train cars are built.

"So I'm actually talking to the north about growth in their economy, about jobs for them, right here, right now," he said. "I'm looking forward to having a debate where we talk about all the province, to all Ontarians."

Although the north comprises just 10 ridings among Ontario's 107 seats, McGuinty's decision to skip the northern debate has dogged him over the last week.

With recent polls suggesting it'll be a tight race to the Oct. 6 finish, every seat will count.

The Liberals held seven northern seats when the election was called, including those of two cabinet ministers: Thunder Bay's Michael Gravelle and Sudbury's Rick Bartolucci. The Grits may be vulnerable in several ridings, including those in Thunder Bay, Sault Ste. Marie, Nipissing and Timiskaming-Cochrane.

The New Democrats, who held three northern ridings, are considered to have the best chance of picking up more seats if Liberal suppport drops. The Tories are confident that they'll reclaim former premier Mike Harris's riding in North Bay from the Liberals.

The north-south divide is a perennial issue for Ontario political leaders, who must strike the right balance between courting vote-rich cities like Toronto and the sparsely populated north, which has suffered from massive job losses over the last few years.

McGuinty's failure to show up has provided ammunition for his opponents, who are eager to cast him as an out-of-touch premier who's well past his best-before date.

For Hudak and Horwath, the northern face-off also served as a dress rehearsal for next Tuesday's main televised debate in Toronto -- this time with McGuinty in the third seat.