Harper will 'buy voters with their own money,' Williams says
Canadians can expect to see an increasingly desperate Stephen Harper pull out alluring promises in the final days of the federal election campaign in a bid to form another government, Newfoundland and Labrador's premier said Tuesday.
Danny Williams, in an interview with CBC News, said with economic woes soaring and the federal Conservatives' poll standings slipping, he expects the last week of the campaign for the Oct. 14 election to take on a different tone.
"From my perspective … what I hear from him personally as the premier of Newfoundland and Labrador is meaningless," said Williams, a Progressive Conservative who has been in a rhetorical war with Harper since 2006.
"He's now a week away from an election. You'll see desperation from the prime minister in the last week," Williams said.
"He'll do what he can to reassure and to persuade voters and to buy voters with their own money."
Williams said Canada is undoubtedly facing a difficult financial future, but said Harper downplayed the seriousness until only the last few days.
"As recently as last week, he was assuring Canadians there was absolutely no problem and there wasn't going to be a problem, and that's irresponsible," Williams said.
"The reason he is doing that, of course, is he wanted to coast through the rest of the campaign, coast to election day, get a majority government and then all of a sudden, the day after, say to Canadians, 'Oops, we have a big problem here,'" Williams said.
Williams made his comments just hours before the Conservatives were to unveil their platform.
Williams is running an "anything but Conservative" campaign in Newfoundland and Labrador, and has been urging residents of his province to boycott federal Conservative candidates. The Conservatives held three of the seven ridings in the province, although only one Tory incumbent — Avalon MP Fabian Manning — is seeking re-election.
Williams was infuriated when Harper changed Conservative policy on excluding non-renewable energy revenues, which include Newfoundland and Labrador's offshore oil reserves, from the federal equalization formula.
Williams has since accused Harper of being untrustworthy and harbouring a far-right agenda to cut social programs.
Harper 'finally had an epiphany' on economy: Williams
On Tuesday, Williams sharpened a new attack, joining critics who have accused Harper of being slow to respond to a global financial meltdown, particularly during last week's pivotal English-language leaders' debate.
"It seems now, all of a sudden, after the debates, post-debate, when leading economists in the country are heading toward, probably, a deep recession, that the prime minister has finally had an epiphany," Williams said.
Later Tuesday, Williams said he will not travel to other provinces to promote the ABC campaign, which is being financed by the Newfoundland and Labrador Progressive Conservative Party. Williams has declined invitations to speak and to campaign with other politicians in other provinces.
Earlier this week, the campaign purchased a high-profile billboard near the Gardiner Expressway in downtown Toronto, reminding voters there to remember notorious comments that federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty made last winter. Flaherty described Ontario as having high taxes and the "last place" someone planning "a new business investment in Canada" should go.