I think you're right. Most people (the general public and /r/Canada as a whole) underestimate the effectiveness of the Conservative's attack ads. Basically, it doesn't work the way people think they work. The goal isn't to discredit the leader/party they're attacking, it's the opposite. You don't get new voters with these ads, you divide the vote.

If you look at the latest polls, you'll see that the CPC is at 32%, Liberals are at 31% and the NDP is at 23%. What's in the best interest of the Conservatives, then? Of course, it would be that the NDP becomes the "legit" left because if that happens, they'll take votes away from the LPC, not from the CPC. They'll take a strong stand against Mulcair in a bid to make Trudeau seem irrelevant and before you know it, it's CPC still at 32%, and then LPC and NDP fighting each other at around 27%. That might just be enough to win in most places where the Liberals were strong enough to challenge them, especially in Ontario.

Some of the folks here in /r/Canada are delusional if they think for a second that the Liberals are a right-wing party and that the right is divided. The LPC and the NDP really are fighting for the same votes. I remember a few months ago how this sub was so pro-Trudeau and how quickly it went pro-NDP. This is exactly what the CPC wants, and that's exactly how they won in 2011. Remember these? They'll do the same thing with Mulcair, I guarantee it. Then we'll see people posting around here saying "Conservatives are idiots, nobody falls for their stupid ads, I'll vote NDP", failing to see how extremely effective this strategy can be.

A lot of people understand policies but few understand politics.