The federal government is in ‘caretaker mode’. What does that mean?

Civil servants will still work, employment insurance benefits will still be issued and transfer payments remain in place, but the federal government is now in caretaker mode until Canadians vote on April 28.There is a political convention that the government holds back from major matters while politicians are out on the hustings. However this election campaign is not routine, unfolding in the face of unrelenting hostility from the White House.