The party leaders voiced their outrage Tuesday after Toronto's Boxing Day shootings, but all had different plans for stopping the escalating gun violence.

"There is nothing else you can do to deal with crime other than to make sure people who commit crimes are severely dealt with, and that we don't run a revolving-door justice system," Conservative Leader Stephen Harper said Tuesday while campaigning in B.C.

He argued that the Liberal proposal for a handgun ban is unnecessary, because handguns are already heavily restricted. Instead, he said that existing criminal laws must be properly enforced.

"The problem is this is the first government in our history that seems unable to enforce our gun laws, and I think obviously this is just the consequence of 12 years of lax criminal justice law enforcement."

Prime Minister Paul Martin said feelings of hopelessness and alienation plaguing youth in Toronto's troubled areas must be dealt with.

"Yesterday's shootings in Toronto serve as a painful reminder that we cannot take our peace or our understanding for granted," Martin said during a Hanukkah celebration in Montreal.

"I think more than anything else, they demonstrate what are in fact the consequences of exclusion. I was in Toronto not long ago and met with a number of members of communities in the Jane and Finch area … and the young people talked to me about the void in their lives, and what hopelessness and exclusion can bring."

NDP Leader Jack Layton did not speak publicly, but he did issue a statement urging Canadians to "condemn these senseless shootings … and the reckless criminals who perpetrated them."

Harper wants increased military spending

The Boxing Day shootings put gun violence at the top of the campaign agenda, eclipsing Harper's proposal to heighten the military's presence in B.C.

"The Conservative Party Canada's first defence strategy will mean Canada will be able to protect our national sovereignty and respond to crises in this part of the country," Harper said.

He argued that B.C. has lacked a strong military presence ever since CFB Chilliwack closed in the mid-1990s after operating for more than 50 years. The base was located close to Vancouver in the Fraser Valley.

"British Columbia is now the only region of the country without a regular army presence," Harper said.

He added that a Conservative government would station a quick-reaction battalion of 650 troops at CFB Comox on Vancouver Island. It's the only air force base in B.C.

Harper's plan would also give major cities across Canada a stronger military presence by creating territorial defence units. Each unit would have 100 regular troops and about 400 reservists. They would be used for both local emergencies and conflicts outside the country.

Other details of the Conservative proposal include:

• New unmanned aerial vehicles to raise the air force's surveillance capability, and a transport ship
• Upgrading frigates, submarines and Aurora surveillance aircraft
• Start a program to replace destroyers and frigates
• Add 500 regulars to Canada's Pacific navy personnel

Harper has already outlined a proposal to boost Canada's military presence in the North -- a move the Liberals have called too expensive.

The Conservatives say their government would raise defence spending for the next five years by $5.3 billion over and above increases promised by the Liberals.

With a report from CTV's Roger Smith and files from The Canadian Press