Harper to Ignatieff: Don't send Canadians back to the polls

Prime Minister Stephen Harper "strongly advised" Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff Wednesday against bringing down the Conservative government.

"I've had three elections in four years," Harper told reporters in Quebec City. "I think that's more than enough for the Canadian public. I don't meet anyone … of any political persuasion who wants to spend the summer fighting an election."

The country doesn't need the "political instability" an election would trigger just as it begins to emerge from a recession, Harper said.

"So you can certainly count on this government being against any kind of election in the near future. I would strongly advise the Opposition of the same thing."

Harper's comments came a day after Ignatieff said his party will decide next week whether to bring down the government and plunge the country into a mid-summer election.

Ignatieff said Tuesday he doesn't want an election, while adding it's becoming more difficult to prop up the minority Conservative government.

"I'm trying to make Parliament work with a government that every day is displaying more flagrant examples of incompetence," he said. "Canadians don't want an election. I don't want an election but we have a problem — a serious problem about this government's confidence."

The ballooning federal budget deficit is one of the main reasons he is considering triggering an election, Ignatieff said.

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty last week disclosed that the deficit for this fiscal year will soar to more than $50 billion — $16 billion more than projected just four months earlier. Then the Toronto Dominion Bank projected that the deficit over five years would hit $168 billion.

However, Harper said Wednesday, "our deficit this year compared to … the other industrialized countries is perfectly affordable. For example, the deficit in the United States and Japan is almost four times larger than our own."

"In Canada, we can afford to spend today because we have managed public finances properly in the last three years when times were better."

Awaiting progress report

Ignatieff said he will decide whether to introduce a motion of non-confidence after assessing the government's second progress report on the economy, which is expected next week.

The Liberals need the help of the Bloc Québécois and New Democratic Party to topple the government.

The Bloc and NDP have consistently voted against the government for the last two years, but may be less keen now that the Liberals have edged ahead in opinion polls.

Ignatieff said he will not consult the other opposition parties before deciding whether to try to topple the government.

The other issues that will determine the Liberal decision:

• The "major medical crisis" provoked by the shutdown of the isotope-producing nuclear reactor at Chalk River.
• The government's refusal to adopt equal access to employment insurance across the country.
• The fact that only six per cent of infrastructure funds have actually started flowing.

Harper was in the Quebec capital to announce a federal collaboration with the National Optical Institute to finance its research projects, and help its research partners to better position themselves to access international markets.