$400M tech funds said to be part of Tory platform

Conservative Leader Stephen Harper delivers a campaign speech at a rally in Laval, Que., on Monday. (Tom Hanson/Canadian Press)

Conservative Leader Stephen Harper, under fire from opposition parties for what they say is his lack of vision regarding the economy, is set to release his party's election platform in Toronto on Tuesday, just a week before the Oct. 14 vote.

Shortly before he presented the plan, the Canadian Press reported that it will include $400 million for two technology funds over four years to help the faltering manufacturing sector in central Canada and deal with perceptions that his party is not concerned about the country's worsening economy. That detail has not yet been confirmed.

The Tory platform launch comes a day after Harper tried to reassure investors amid continuing market drops and escalating global economic turmoil, while warning that his opponents' plans would increase taxes for Canadian energy and commodities companies, among the hardest hit by the crisis.

"The Conservatives say that all along they have made small, practical announcements that have focused on the family," said the CBC's Julie Van Dusen, who is covering the election in Ottawa.

"So don't expect any big surprises today — nothing Earth-shattering — and expect to hear a reassuring tone on the economy."

During last week's leaders' debates, all four opposition leaders assailed Harper for failing to release his party platform more than three weeks into the election campaign, saying it showed the Conservatives had no plan to deal with the growing economic troubles.

During a Monday afternoon interview from Montreal with Business News Network, the Conservative leader appeared to stop short of ruling out the country going into deficit to kickstart the economy.

"There's nothing on the horizon, notwithstanding the storm clouds … that indicates to me that we should immediately go into deficit," he said.

A tough book-balancing act

But Harper, who has warned that his leadership rivals' spending proposals would bring the country's books back into the red, also said his party still wants to keep the federal budgets balanced.

"I know economists will say that we can run a small deficit, but the problem is once you cross that line, as we see in the United States, nothing stops deficits from getting larger and larger, and spiralling out of control, and we want to avoid the kind of government, household and trade deficits we see in the United States."

Polls suggest Harper's Conservatives are still in the lead with a week to go before the election, but have seen their support slide amid the stock market mayhem, a tumbling loonie and fears of looming recession.

While campaigning in Quebec on Tuesday, Bloc Québécois Leader Gilles Duceppe again critized Harper for waiting so late in the campaign to release his platform, but said the government has manoeuvring room to avoid a deficit.

"We have to look at all the numbers and figures; this is the duty of Mr. Harper to do so," Duceppe told reporters in Trois-Rivières. "It's funny he's only coming a few days before election day with a platform, but the margin of manoeuvre is there if he is acting now."

After unveiling the platform at a hotel in Toronto, Harper will head to an evening rally in nearby Hamilton.

Layton in B.C.; Dion heads to Ontario

NDP Leader Jack Layton, who said Monday while campaigning in British Columbia that Harper has done nothing for the economy during nearly three years in power, is set to campaign for a second consecutive day in the vote-rich province. He begins his day in Vancouver, then attends an afternoon rally in Comox, B.C.

On Monday, Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion said Harper is finally waking up to the burgeoning global financial crisis, but still believes the Tory leader isn't doing enough to address Canadians' concerns about the economy.

Dion will begin Tuesday in Vancouver, where he will speak to supporters, and then will travel across the country to North Bay, Ont., where he will conclude his day's campaigning at an evening rally.

Green Leader Elizabeth May will spend a second straight day campaigning in the riding of Central Nova after a heated debate that featured her trading barbs with her Conservative opponent, Defence Minister Peter MacKay.