Canada leaders clash in TV debate

 12 April 2011 Last updated at 21:43 ET  Prime Minister Stephen Harper needs to elect only 12 more MPs to form a majority government Canada's embattled prime minister has clashed with three opposition leaders in the first of two televised debates, ahead of the 2 May election.

Liberal Party leader Michael Ignatieff accused Mr Harper of deceit, saying Canadians "don't have confidence in your management of the economy".

Mr Harper said the opposition had provoked an unnecessary election at a key time for the economy.

Polls suggest the Conservatives will likely win re-election.

The election was prompted by a non-confidence vote in Canada's parliament after Mr Harper's government was criticised for failing to provide details about areas of spending, which included a budget for new fighter jets.

The Conservatives have about 40% support, according to recent poll, with the main opposition Liberal Party on about 30%.

But with nearly 25% of voters said to be still undecided, correspondents say the televised debates could have an impact on the election.

Questions over spending

Mr Harper was immediately put on the defensive by Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe over controversies surrounding G8/G20 summit spending and corporate tax cuts.

A leaked draft report on last summer's G8/G20 summit in Canada alleged the government spent millions of dollars on dubious projects and that parliament was "misled" about the spending.

Mr Duceppe called on Mr Harper to release the auditor general's report that alleged the Canadian government misinformed parliament to win approval for a $50m (￡32) G8 fund that put money toward questionable projects.

The report, which Auditor General Sheila Fraser has said she will not release until after the new parliament is seated, suggests the process by which the funding was approved may have been illegal.

Mr Ignatieff and New Democratic Party (NDP) leader Jack Layton soon jumped into the conversation, demanding answers on spending practices.

"The Conservative Party is the problem here when it comes to the economy," Mr Layton said.

Mr Layton added that Conservative corporate tax cuts contributed to "why people can't make ends meet, why so many people are still out of work".

"Your policies don't address them," he said.

Mr Ignatieff also accused Mr Harper of pushing corporate tax cuts, which he said the Liberal Party would end in order to pay for a student grants programme.

"We can invest in Canadian learning," Mr Ignatieff said.

"That's a billion-dollar investment ... you spent that in 72 hours on the G8/G20 photo-op."

The debate was seen as a good chance for Mr Ignatieff, who has been portrayed as an elitist in political attack ads, to improve his image.

But despite an energetic campaign, Mr Ignatieff has made little headway in opinion polls, with his party trailing the Conservatives by 8.5 points in a Nanos Research poll released on Tuesday.

'Unnecessary election'

During the English-language debate on Tuesday evening, Mr Harper said opposition parties had provoked what he believed was an unnecessary election at a time when Canadians should be focusing on the economy.

But Mr Ignatieff struck back at Mr Harper, saying Canada was "having an election because you didn't tell parliament the truth".

Mr Ignatieff's Liberal Party, which has governed Canada for longer than any other group, is struggling partly because they are now competing with the New Democrats for the same portion of the electorate.

The debate was broken down into six portions, which saw two of the four leaders debating in six-minute showdowns.

Each segment began with a question from a Canadian voter, and ended with a brief free-for-all debate involving all four leaders.

A debate in French, which is the other official language of Canada, will take place on Wednesday evening.

 

Canada

 

Canada is the second largest country in the world after Russia. However, its population is only about one-fifth of Russia's.

Nearly 90% of Canadians live within 200km of the border with the United States, which means that Canada contains vast expanses of wilderness to the north.

The relationship to its powerful neighbour is a defining factor for Canada. The US and Canada have the world's largest trading relationship.

The North American Free Trade Agreement, involving Canada, the US and Mexico, has brought a trade boom for Canada. But thorny issues abound. American moves which impact on Canadian exports, in the form of tariffs on Canadian timber and increased subsidies for US farmers, have created particular tension.

Canada is also worried about pollution from US factories near the border, and about the possible impact on the environment of the exploitation of oil deposits in Alaska.

Canada pursues a foreign policy that is distinct from that of the US. The country has committed troops to the American-led war on terror, but does not back the US trade embargo on Cuba. Canada did not send troops to join the US-led war in Iraq.

After the 11 September 2001 attacks in the US, the challenge of securing the 9,000-km Canada-US border from possible terrorist infiltration prompted both countries to look at ways of sharing information.

Toronto: The thriving metropolis is Canada's commercial hub

Immigration has helped to make Canada one of the world's richest nations. Challenges related to discrimination and integration are gaining increasing attention. Many recent newcomers hail from Asia. Canada's indigenous peoples make up less than two per cent of the population. The way in which provincial governments share land and natural resources with native groups is an ongoing issue.

Separatist aspirations in the predominantly French-speaking province of Quebec are a major domestic issue. A referendum in 1995 saw advocates of an independent Quebec only narrowly defeated. Subsequent opinion polls indicated a fall in support for independence and the pro-independence Parti Quebecois was defeated in 2003's provincial election.

The concept of nationhood for Quebec resurfaced in late 2006, when parliament agreed that the Quebecois should be considered a "nation" within a united Canada. The move was largely symbolic, having no constitutional or legal grounding.

Canada has been asserting its sovereignty in the Arctic with growing vigour and has become embroiled in territorial spats with the US and Denmark. At stake is the possible bounty from previously-untapped reserves of oil and gas.

Full name: Canada Population: 33.8 million (UN, 2010) Capital: Ottawa Largest city: Toronto Area: 9.9 million sq km (3.8 million sq miles) Major languages: English, French (both official) Major religion: Christianity Life expectancy: 79 years (men), 84 years (women) (UN) Monetary unit: 1 Canadian dollar = 100 cents Main exports: Machinery and equipment, automotive products, metals and plastics, forestry products, agricultural and fishing products, energy products GNI per capita: US $42,170 (World Bank, 2009) Internet domain: .ca International dialling code: +1

Head of state: Queen Elizabeth II, represented by Governor-General David Johnston

Prime minister: Stephen Harper (outgoing)

In March 2011, the minority Conservative government led by Stephen Harper collapsed after losing a no-confidence vote brought by the opposition in response to a row over the government's budget proposals. Fresh elections are expected to be held in early May.

Stephen Harper's minority government collapsed in March 2011

Mr Harper became prime minister in 2006, after elections that brought to an end 12 years of Liberal government.

However, the Conservatives failed to win an overall majority and had to work with opposition parties in order to govern.

Two years into his first term, Mr Harper called an early election in an attempt to win a working majority. His party improved its position in the October 2008 election, winning 16 more seats than in the 2006 election, but still fell short of an overall majority.

Two months later, Mr Harper came close to being toppled by an alliance of the opposition Liberal and New Democrat parties over his handling of the economic crisis, but avoided a no-confidence vote by suspending parliament for a month.

He prorogued parliament for a second time in January 2010, this time for two months. He described the suspension as "routine", but it drew an angry response from opposition leaders.

They said the move was aimed at avoiding a potentially embarrassing debate on the government's role in the torture of Afghan terror detainees.

On coming to power, the Conservatives promised to cut taxes, fight crime, boost military spending and repair relations with the US. Mr Harper has denied harbouring a radical right-wing agenda, a charge levelled by some opponents.

Born in Toronto, Ontario in 1959, Stephen Harper studied economics at the University of Calgary in Alberta. He became an MP in 1993 and became leader of the newly-merged Conservative party in 2004.

He is married and has two children. Aside from politics and intellectual pursuits, he is passionate about ice hockey.

Canada has a long history of public broadcasting. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) was set up in the 1930s in response to the growing influence of American radio.

Broadcasting in French and English, the CBC runs four radio networks featuring speech-based and cultural programmes. It also operates two national TV channels, TV and radio services for indigenous peoples in the north and the international broadcaster Radio Canada International.

There are just under 2,000 licensed radio stations in Canada, many of them commercial. There is extensive take-up of multichannel TV.

The Canadian media are free to present a wide range of views and opinions. The broadcasting regulator rules that quotas of Canadian material - usually 30-35% - must be carried by TV and radio stations.

The press

Television

CBC - public, operates English-language national network and cable news channel CBC Newsworld Société Radio-Canada - public, operates national French-language network and cable news channel RDI CTV - major commercial network TVA - major French-language commercial network Aboriginal People's TV Network (APTN) - Winnipeg-based national network, via cable and satellite CPAC - parliamentary and political channel CRTC- regulatory body; the CRTC website has information about the main TV groups and their services

Radio

CBC - public, operates English-language network Radio One and cultural network Radio Two Société Radio-Canada - public, operates French-language services Première Cha?ne and Espace Musique Radio Canada International - external service run by CBC CRTC- regulatory body; the CRTC website has information about the main radio groups and their stations