OTTAWA — Canada's dangerous military mission in Afghanistan is becoming a wedge issue in the Liberal leadership contest.

The 11 candidates are divided over the merits of the mission and whether it should be extended beyond the current deadline of February. Toronto MP and former minister Joe Volpe is so far the most critical of the mission. He's calling for the withdrawal of troops from Kandahar province, where a number of Canadian soldiers have been killed recently as they attempt to root out Taliban insurgents.

Two more soldiers were wounded Monday when their armoured vehicle was rocked by a roadside bomb.

Volpe wants Canada's contingent of 2,200 soldiers to return to its original base in the Afghan capital of Kabul. He's also calling for a reorientation of Canadian Forces to pursue a more traditional peacekeeping mission while helping to restore "civil society" to the war-ravaged country.

"That's what we're equipped to do, that's what we're capable of doing and that's where our expertise lies," Volpe said in an interview.

The previous Liberal government committed troops to Afghanistan's lawless south last year and included a robust combat element to the deployment. But most of the casualties have come under Stephen Harper's fledgling Conservative government.

Volpe suggested this was no coincidence. He believes there was a change in the mission at the behest of U.S. President George W. Bush.

"We can't switch from peacekeeper to peacemaker on the fly just because a Republican government in the United States asks us to. We can't be an extension of American foreign policy," Volpe said.

Volpe's stance appears to be at odds with that of rookie MP and acclaimed scholar Michael Ignatieff, one of the presumed frontrunners in the leadership race. He has been the most unequivocal in his support for the Afghanistan mission.

"We have got to be a party that stands for human rights everywhere, that does the tough lifting when it has to be done," Ignatieff told Ontario Liberals during an all-candidates' forum earlier this month.

"You ask us to do something hard and difficult and we can do it. We're doing it in Afghanistan. It's in the greatest tradition of our country and that's the kind of country we want."

Ignatieff later told a reporter Canadians support the idea of providing security to Afghans but will not support "an indefinite counterinsurgency war (along) with the Americans."

Other contenders support the deployment for now but are calling for a serious debate and reassessment before the Harper government decides whether to extend the mission beyond February.

Before making that decision, former Ontario premier Bob Rae said Canada should consult with its NATO allies about the best use of its troops and consider other countries, such as Sudan, where they might be more usefully deployed.

Harper last week said Canada won't be sending troops to the troubled Darfur region of Sudan. His defence minister, Gordon O'Connor said the military can't afford to take on another mission on top of their work in Afghanistan.

Rae also said no decision should be taken on extending the mission without taking into account eroding popular support in Canada, particularly in Quebec.

"There are many issues to be considered in making a decision of this kind and it would be, I think, very unwise to be racing around saying we have to do this forever," Rae concluded.

Public opinion polls have showed declining support for the mission.

But Stephane Dion, the foreign affairs critic for the Liberals, predicted few Canadians would support simply pulling out and abandoning Afghans to their fate.

Still, he said it's a mistake for Harper to suggest Canadian troops will stay as long as needed. Other NATO countries might be better equipped to take the lead in Afghanistan while Canada's soldiers could be better deployed in Darfur or elsewhere.

"The key point I agree with the government is that we should not evacuate in a vacuum. But to send a message (that) Canada is there to stay and don't ask us to do much elsewhere, whether Haiti or Darfur, there I disagree," Dion said in an interview.

Gerard Kennedy, former Ontario education minister, has also called for a full debate before the government decides whether to extend the mission.

"The question is, are we building a civil society (in Afghanistan) or are we simply trying to pacify a country that has a very troublesome possibility of pulling itself together," Kennedy told reporters last month at his campaign launch.

Most of the others appear to be somewhere between the two poles, offering support for the current mission but calling for a serious debate and reassessment when the mission ends in February.