George Ignatieff, Canada's ambassador to the United Nations and father of Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff, speaks during a meeting on peacekeeping operations in 1968.The Canadian Press
Stephen Harper's Conservatives are invoking the defence of "he brought it up first" to explain why they so aggressively attacked Michael Ignatieff's family history.
In a memo circulated Monday to supporters and MPs, Tory strategists explain why they sent out a three-page memo to reporters questioning the Liberal Leader's account of how his father came to Canada as an immigrant and why that same information was published on a Conservative-backed website.
"Ignatieff made political claims about his family in a recent ad," the Tories say. "We drew attention to instances where IGNATIEFF'S OWN PUBLISHED WRITINGS contradicted his recent claims."
The Conservatives even provide the page numbers from Mr. Ignatieff's book about his family's history, The Russian Album, to bolster their case.
These latest attacks were provoked by a new Liberal video in which Mr. Ignatieff says that his father came to Canada on a boat in 1928 - " with nothing."
The Tories immediately countered, arguing the experience of the Liberal Leader's father - whose family was part of the Russian aristocracy - was not typical of most immigrants to Canada. They said George Ignatieff lived in a manor home in Britain for 10 years before coming to Canada.
Mr. Ignatieff was infuriated by the Tory claims, telling CTV's Question Period Sunday that Stephen Harper had crossed a line and had distorted the facts. "These personal attacks are unprecedented in the history of Canadian democracy," he charged.
The Liberal Leader's passion drew support and spurred condemnation of the Tory tactic. But that clearly wasn't the end of the story.
"We have not and will not comment critically on the personal or family life of anyone in public life or their families," the Tories said Monday. "We expect all participants in public life to adhere to a similar code."
It's a curious stand, given the initial Conservative memo reporters was hedlined: "Michael Ignatieff: Child of Immigrants?" with "Or, 'How the other half aristocrats immigrate'," as a sub-heading.
The fierce rhetoric is a reflection of how highly prized the votes of new Canadians are to each party. In his ad, Mr. Ignatieff is not only introducing himself to Canadians but telling recent immigrants that his family feels their pain too.
The Tories are equally keen to shore up their support among ethnic communities. In a recent gaffe, their entire outreach strategy was mistakenly sent to the NDP. It hinged on an appeal to social conservatism - the same note struck by a series of ads launched this weekend under the tagline "vote your values."
One of them features B.C. MP Nina Grewal explaining why her values, as an Indo-Canadian, are Conservative values - concern for family, importance of hard work and respect for traditions. Edmonton MP Tim Uppal is featured in another appeal to South Asian voters.
And there are two more targeted at Chinese Canadians - one in Cantonese, featuring B.C. MP Alice Wong and another, in Mandarin, featuring an entrepreneur.