DUBAI: In the past nine years in office, Prime Minister Stephen Harper has cut taxes, increased military spending, toughened Canada’s criminal laws and streamlined regulations governing the energy industry.
But he is resting his reputation as being a shrewd manager of the Canadian economy, and says only he can be trusted to manage an economy that is struggling to cope with the after-effects of below-par global growth and a plunge in the price of oil, a major Canadian export.
The Conservatives are trailing slightly behind the left-leaning New Democrats (NDP), who have never governed Canada. The Liberals of Justin Trudeau are third, but all are statistically tied, given the differences are within the margins of error for opinion polls.
Both opposition parties say Canada needs a change from Harper, who has dismissed their calls for increased government spending to stimulate the economy.
Data released in early August showed gross domestic product shrank in May, the fifth decline in a row. The figures suggest the economy was likely in a technical recession in the first half of 2015. During a televised leader’s debate on Thursday night, NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair accused Harper of trying to deny the Canadian economy shrank and is on the brink of recession.
“We are one month away from a technical definition of recession, but, according to a lot of observers, we’re already in a recession,” Mulcair said.
“I have been very clear,” Harper said. “Look at the numbers. Eighty per cent of the Canadian economy is healthy and growing. We have a contraction in the energy sector that everybody knows is because of low oil prices. The question is what do you do? We say you stick on the low-tax plan that has had us as world leaders in terms of jobs and growth over the long haul and will continue to do so.”
Canada’s unemployment rate has been holding firm at 6.8 per cent.
Analysts say the election is a toss-up and Harper’s Conservative party faces an uphill battle to form another majority government in Parliament. The election is on October 19.
Analysts say Mulcair and the opposition New Democrats have a chance to gain power for the first time after the party won control of the legislature in Alberta, Canada’s most conservative province, a few months ago.
Trudeau has trailed in third place in recent polls after Harper’s Conservatives have run repeated attack advertisements saying the 43-year-old is not ready for the job.
