Just like 2008 election, Harper is trying to deceive Canadians about recession and deficit mid-campaign
August 25, 2015
OTTAWA – Stephen Harper is borrowing from the same playbook he used in the 2008 election to deceive Canadians about the recession and the deficit.
After repeated denials throughout the entire 2008 campaign, Harper only admitted to the recession and the largest deficit in history – $55 billion – after Canadians had already cast their ballots.
Today, Canada is the only G7 country in recession and the Parliamentary Budget Officer says Harper is running an eighth consecutive deficit, yet Stephen Harper continues to deny them both.
Just like with the Mike Duffy scandal, Stephen Harper is not telling Canadians the truth. He cannot be trusted.
Harper 2008:
- “This country will not go into recession next year and will lead the G7 countries.” (Stephen Harper, October 10, 2008)
- “Flaherty emphasized on Wednesday that the government will not run even a small deficit” (Canadian Press, October 9, 2008)
- Weeks later, after the 2008 election, Harper finally admitted to the recession and deficit.
Harper 2015, denying the recession and deficit again:
- “The Canadian economy has one of the best performances of all major economies” (Stephen Harper, August 24, 2015)
- “We have a budget that is balanced now” (Stephen Harper, Maclean’s National Leaders Debate, August 6, 2015)