OTTAWA–They say truth is the first casualty of war– and that goes for political wars, too.
As momentum builds toward another election campaign, so are the urban political myths. Here's a look at some of the most prominent mind-benders.
MYTH: An election would imperil economic recovery.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper says an election would "screw up" the fragile economic recovery.
But that's not the view on Bay St. There, it elicits laughter.
"You believe that?" blurted Avery Shenfeld, senior analyst at CIBC World Markets.
National political campaigns are not a cause for concern on Bay Street, he said.
"We don't typically see a lot of financial market or business response to Canadian elections," which, Shenfeld noted, "don't tend to be revolutionary."
Few, if any, glaring differences exist between the Conservatives and the Liberals on key economic issues, observers note.
The Liberals supported the budget of Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, above, that contained $35 billion over two years in stimulative spending. And, like the Harper government, the Liberals say that if elected they would tame the deficit without raising taxes or slashing federal transfers to the provinces.
"When you have both the Conservatives and Liberals in favour of corporate tax cuts and both sort of committed to the idea that deficits are a bad thing ... I don't really see how an election is of much consequence to the markets or to the economy," said United Steelworkers economist Erin Weir.
MYTH: The Liberals will wrest power from the Conservatives by joining in a coalition with the NDP and the Bloc Québécois.
Prime Minister Harper fuelled a backlash against his political opponents last winter by saying a proposed Liberal-NDP coalition – supported by the BQ – was an attempt to hijack the results of the Oct. 14 election. And the Conservatives are again reviving the coalition bogeyman.
"If we do not win a majority, this country will have a Liberal government propped up by the socialists and the separatists," Harper told party faithful recently.
But Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff, who spurned the coalition idea after taking over last winter, continues to deny having any interest in it.
"Let me be very clear – the Liberal party would not agree to a coalition," he said yesterday.
"In January we did not support a coalition and we do not support a coalition today or tomorrow."
Canadians want a cooperative, well-functioning Parliament – not a Liberal-NDP coalition supported by the BQ, Ignatieff said.
"We know how to make Parliament work," he told reporters. "I'm favourable to compromise, I'm favourable to reaching out."
Nonetheless, a campaigning Harper can be expected to try to fan fears of a Liberal power grab joined with the NDP and BQ.
MYTH: A Liberal proposal to make it easier for laid-off workers to obtain Employment Insurance would be irresponsibly costly.
The Liberals want to ease employment insurance rules to help laid-off workers who cannot qualify for EI payments.
Reducing eligibility to 360 hours of work would allow another 150,000 to qualify for jobless benefits, the Liberals say, at a cost of $1.5 billion.
But the Conservatives have ridiculed that estimate, saying it would run up Ottawa's EI bill by a massive $4 billion annually.
Arguing that this tally by cabinet minister Diane Finley was vastly exaggerated, the Liberals asked Kevin Page, the independent parliamentary budget officer, to analyze their proposal.
Yesterday, Page estimated the 360-hour standard would have a $1.1 billion annual price tag.
Ignatieff said Page's analysis upheld Liberals' bookkeeping and showed the Conservatives' $4 billion tally was "completely false."
MYTH: An election will cheat Canadians out of their home renovation tax credit.
Harper and other Conservatives have raised the spectre that an election call could nullify the tax credit program for home renovations this year.
That's because the measure, though promoted widely, has yet to become law. Conservatives plan to introduce a ways and means motion soon for that purpose.
However, Liberals say they'll no longer support the minority government, meaning defeat of the Conservatives could come first.
Not to worry, Liberals say.
"We support the home renovation tax credit ... and will ensure Canadians are able to claim (it) in 2009 no matter what," spokesman Jean-François Del Torchio said.
