News

Conservative Leader Stephen Harper is vowing his government would completely withdraw Canadian troops from Afghanistan in 2011 – a promise that goes beyond a Parliamentary motion this year which merely committed to pull soldiers out of Kandahar province.

Military analysts have warned it's a bad idea strategically to set a definite end date for withdrawing from Afghanistan but Mr. Harper says he thinks even the Canadian military wants to quit the country in 2011.

The statement is a change for Mr. Harper, who had acknowledged in April that it was possible down the road that Canada's NATO allies might ask Ottawa to extend its Afghan commitment beyond 2011.

The March 13 2008 resolution, backed by both the Conservatives and Liberals, said: “The government of Canada notify NATO that Canada will end its presence in Kandahar as of July 2011, add, as of that date, the redeployment of Canadian Forces troops out of Kandahar and their replacement by Afghan forces start as soon as possible, so that it will have been completed by December 2011.”

But now, Mr. Harper is vowing his government would pull out completely.

“The mission as we have known it – we intend to end it,” Mr. Harper said

“I think we have to say to the government of Afghanistan, we have an expectation that ‘We are going to be responsible for your own security. ‘We're not there to permanently manage your security'.”

The Conservative Leader said he's been clear about pulling troops from Afghanistan in 2011, but the March 13 motion passed by the Tories and Liberals – which extended the military mission in Afghanistan until 2011 – left lingering confusion about Canada's future role there because it only talked about pulling troops from the dangerous Kandahar province.

Today's comments are a shift for Mr. Harper, who had acknowledged in April that it was possible down the road that Canada's NATO allies might ask Ottawa to extend its Afghan commitment beyond 2011.

Mr. Harper said by 2011 Canada will have been in the Taliban homeland of Kandahar for six years and this will have exhausted Canadians' interest in staying there.

“I don't really think there will be much appetite among Canadians. I don't think even among the armed forces themselves – all though they probably wouldn't say so – much appetite to see rotations continuing the way they've been after six years.”

The wide-ranging discussion with reporters at a breakfast scrum also touched on the economy, unemployment, and Mr. Harper's personal ambitions.

The Tory leader said he relishes being prime minister because it allows him to be in charge -- “I've always had some strong opinions about how this country should be run,” he said -- but he hates the celebrity aspect of the job and will not regret leaving media cameras and microphones behind one day. “When this is all over I assure you I will not miss [that] for one minute.”

The Conservative Leader also had frank words for Canadians who have lost their jobs in recent months and years as the economy slowed, saying Ottawa cannot assure people their jobs are safe.

“I think you have to be honest with people: the government can't go in and say ‘We can guarantee your job',” he said. “We can't protect your job.”

He said what the federal government must do is help create conditions where Canadians can find jobs in new and emerging industries and technologies.

“There is no point in telling people we can solve all the problems of Ford. Ford is going to have to manage some of them.”

The Tories, just before they called an election, lent money to Ford to build a new engine assembly line at an idled Windsor plant and cash for research and development.

“We have tried to assist … but some changes in the marketplace are going to take effect one way or the other,” Mr. Harper said.

The Conservative Leader said the economy is brighter than it actually looks, despite all the job losses this year in places such as Ontario.

“The reality is … there are some jobs being created as well. We have so far this year net job creation of 80,000 jobs, over and above jobs that have been lost.”

He said he's not trying to minimize job losses but to note that things are better than they might first appear.

“In most areas people have been able to get other jobs. And in most areas, disposable incomes continue to increase. So it's not just that they're getting new jobs. They're often getting new jobs that pay just as well or better.”

Mr. Harper, who's stumping in Toronto today, said he thinks Canada's largest city is a Liberal electoral bastion in part because voters have no sitting Tory MPs in the area to remind them that his party as a viable option.

He said he also thinks immigrant Canadians in the Toronto area are particularly open to switching their vote to Tory.

“The biggest single problem we have is it's a chicken and egg problem – it's that we're not here. Conservatives in the last 15 years or so have become foreign in Toronto. It's not just federal; there are virtually no provincial Conservatives here and municipally there are fewer Conservatives as well.”

He said it will get easier to pitch to Torontonians after the Tories start capturing seats.

“Once we start electing some people, it will be easier to elect more … wherever we've made a breakthrough we've been able to build on it.”

He said Torontonians can be switched to the Tory cause because he said there are many small-c conservatives there who don't vote for him, especially among immigrants.

“It's not an insurmountable hurdle: it's an issue of converting small-c conservatives to big-c conservatives, if you actually look at what they believe.”

View Larger Map

• Click on placemarkers to learn more about each campaign stop and event (all times are local).
• Navigate with the arrow buttons, or zoom in and out with the + or - buttons.
• For a more detailed view, click on the link above labelled "view larger map."
• Click here for a map of Days 1-3.