Ex-PMs join Lib campaign to attack Harper economic cred; Tories call it desperate

OTTAWA – Two former prime ministers are joining the Liberal campaign to attack Stephen Harper’s economic credentials.

The Conservative leader has been casting himself as best suited to steer the country through stormy economic waters.

But the Liberals hope to undermine that case with the help of two famous names — Paul Martin and Jean Chretien.

Martin is with the Michael Ignatieff campaign today, reminding voters that Harper is the same person who promised in the last election that there would be no deficit and no recession.

He says the country already was in a deficit, and a recession, when Harper was making those claims. Chretien is also scheduled to deliver a speech on the Liberal leader’s behalf later in the campaign.

The Conservatives call the reappearance of two old leaders a sign of desperation on Ignatieff’s part. The Liberals have been trailing considerably in public-opinion polls.

The Liberals, however, are pointing out that Harper could not campaign with either of the two living Progressive Conservative prime ministers — Joe Clark and Brian Mulroney — because he doesn’t get along with them.

Both the Liberals and Conservatives are taking their campaigns west today.

The prime minister is attending Conservative campaign events in Vancouver and Burnaby, B.C., after visiting Saskatchewan — all places where he hopes to pick up additional seats.

Ignatieff visits Regina, where he hopes to retain his party’s single Saskatchewan seat, before moving on to Edmonton where he’ll hook up at a rally with Martin.

NDP Leader Jack Layton is in St. John’s, N.L., while the Bloc’s Gilles Duceppe is spending most of the day in the Quebec City area.