Federal leaders ready for debate on economy
Harper, Mulcair and Trudeau in Calgary for Globe and Mail debate beginning 8 p.m. ET
CBC News Posted: Sep 17, 2015 7:30 PM ET, Last Updated: Sep 17, 2015 7:47 PM ET, Source
Three federal party leaders are set to square off in their second debate, with the economy the focus of a contest that could shake up what has so far been a tight three-way race
The debate taking place in Stampede Park in Calgary is being hosted by the Globe and Mail and moderated by its editor in chief, David Walmsley.
Green Party Leader Elizabeth May, who was not invited to participate, is instead teaming up with Twitter to be able to respond to the statements of the leaders.
Harper has wanted to make the campaign about his economic stewardship, and the debate comes on the heels of a number of financial reports, some good, some not.
Earlier this month, Statistics Canada reported that Canada's GDP had contracted over two consecutive quarters, meeting the technical definition of a recession.
But the Conservative leader has also been buoyed by figures showing that Canada was in a $5-billion surplus for the April-to-June period this year. That news was followed by figures showing Canada also posted a surplus of $1.9 billion for the 2014-15 fiscal year, ending six years of deficits under Harper's watch
The leaders have staked out divergent views on deficits, with both Harper and Mulcair pledging balanced budgets and surpluses.
Meanwhile Trudeau has argued what's needed to kickstart the economy is infrastructure spending, which is why he has already acknowledged he would run three deficits if the Liberals form a government.
On the overall economy, Harper has blamed the downturn on the collapse of oil prices and insisted that the other sectors of the economy are growing and that Canada's fiscal position remains strong.
Mulcair and Trudeau, not surprisingly, have rejected Harper's optimistic view, arguing that his economic policies have resulted in hundreds of thousands of jobs lost and stagnant economic growth,
On taxes, Trudeau has said he would not touch the corporate tax rate, but would implement a tax hike on the wealthiest one per cent. Mulcair, who has made billions of dollars of program pledges, has said he would raise the corporate tax rate to 17 per cent from its current 15 per cent.
Harper has dismissed Mulcair and Trudeau's plans as nothing more than reckless spending and tax hikes.
