OTTAWA — Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff kicked off a cross-country tour Tuesday with a promise "to do politics differently" than the Conservatives and to restore faith in the political process among those who are cynical about it.

But that tour got off to a rocky start when the Liberal bus — emblazoned with the words "Liberal Express" — broke down hours later just outside Hawkesbury, Ont.

A party spokesman said there was a transmission problem and told everyone on board a new bus would be coming. The driver made several attempts to get the bus going again, but it remained stalled at the side of the two-lane road.

Ignatieff brushed off the delay, saying: "The backup is on its way."

Earlier in Ottawa the Liberal leader told Liberal staff, MPs and supporters, who sought shelter from a downpour under umbrellas and plastic ponchos, the tour is an opportunity to showcase the party and connect with Canadians.

"We're going to bring politics back to the Canadian people, restore faith in the political process, give Canadians an alternative — a compassionate, progressive, reforming alternative," Ignatieff said. "We're going to do politics differently. We don't like a government that doesn't respect the institution behind us. We're going to practice the politics of persuasion instead of the politics of manipulation."

Ignatieff is planning to travel to every province and territory between now and the first week of September and his itinerary is jam-packed with town hall meetings, visits to local landmarks, BBQs and other events.

The face time and photo-ops with Canadians in all kinds of small towns and cities from coast to coast will be crucial if the Liberal leader is to build his profile among voters before the next election.

Ignatieff hasn't been able to boost the Liberals past the Conservatives in the polls since becoming leader in late 2008.

The results of the most recent poll released last week showed the Conservatives having the support of 35 per cent of decided voters, compared to 29 per cent for the Liberals and 15 per cent for the NDP.

The Conservatives try to portray Ignatieff, a former academic who lived abroad for many years, as an elitist who doesn't really care about Canadians. They nicknamed his bus tour the "Just Visiting Express" and even printed buttons and t-shirts with the expression and Ignatieff's photo on them that were distributed to journalists. They also created a website taking aim at Ignatieff, www.ignatieff.me, that says "It's not about you, it's just about him."

Ignatieff, with some frustration, rejected the familiar Conservative tagline that has been used against him since be became Liberal leader, and said Prime Minister Stephen Harper is the one who doesn't connect with Canadians.

"Stephen Harper hasn't taken an unscripted question from a Canadian in five years," he said.

The tour isn't about him, or the Liberal party, said Ignatieff, it is "about optimism in place of a politics of fear."

"What we care about is rousing the base, reaching out to as many Canadians as we can and above all, preaching to the unconverted," he said shortly before hopping on board the bus. "This isn't just talking to Liberals, this is talking to Canadians, listening to Canadians, and that's the part of this job that I love."

The NDP also used the bus tour launch Tuesday as an opportunity to criticize the Liberals for failing to help them defeat the Conservative budget bill which was passed by the Senate Monday.

With a file from Matthew Pearson, Ottawa Citizen