Tories churning out spending promises

Speculation is building that Prime Minister Stephen Harper could call an election this weekend.

The federation said opposition parties will be pressed to say what they would do differently to get things moving.

“It will just be a continuation of what we’re doing”.

“We remain in the period of incredible global uncertainty and instability”, Harper said.

Once that happens, the government spending taps close and the only pledges the Conservatives can make are campaign promises.

Elections Canada estimates that a campaign this fall of 37 days – the minimum required by law – would cost roughly $375 million to administer.

Sources say the prime minister is set to visit Gov. Gen. David Johnston within days, possibly as soon as Sunday, to formally dissolve Parliament and launch what will be the costliest and – at 11 weeks – one of the longest campaigns in Canadian history.

“Campaigns are pretty basic”.

What are these effects, you ask?

That has left the economy limping into the summer as the parties geared up for a campaign where the economy and who is best positioned to manage it, are expected to be key ballot questions.

This one amendment increases the spending limit by 1/37 of the initial limit for every day the campaign extends. But if mistakes are by the Tories during the campaign, then the longer the white heat of scrutiny is shone upon them the more painful the burn.

He’d deal with that potential problem by bringing in more people for fewer shifts each week. I can agree with Mr. Auriat that polls can change quite dramatically by election day, but from what they have been telling us for quite some time now, Stephen Harper is the least popular of all the party leaders – Tom Mulcair currently being the most popular.

Still, the rebates will undoubtedly be considerably higher than the rebates handed out to parties and candidates after the five-week election campaign in 2011.

There’s also talk of a speaking tour similar to the whistlestop train trips leaders once took across the country, although not likely going by rail, he said.

“I don’t speculate, and I particularly don’t speculate on my own actions”, he said in his Ottawa office.

“(He’s) trying to use his experience and also trying to use what resources the Conservatives have – which appear to be more than the other guys – to his advantage”.

The concern with PACs, both above and below the 49th parallel, is that between campaigns, they can spend as much money as they want without having to abide by spending rules.

If the election is indeed called that early, it wouldn’t be the first time politicians have made the length of the campaign part of their strategy.

He’s keeping in shape and eating less meat and more vegetables to stay healthy for the grind ahead. The Conservatives and Liberals have not released their second-quarter numbers.