Prime Minister Stephen Harper speaks at a Conservative fundraiser at in Winnipeg on Oct. 7, 2010.Trevor Hagan/The Canadian Press
Stephen Harper is on the rosier side of the ledger when it comes to expectations for the economic recovery but says his government remains open to offering more stimulus spending if things worsen.
Speaking to reporters in Alberta Friday, the Prime Minister offered his take on new job numbers that show Canada unexpectedly shed 6,600 positions in September - the second drop in three months.
Mr. Harper reiterated the Tories intend to end a two-year stimulus spending package by March 31, 2011, saying there's nothing that would justify further aid for the economy.
But the Prime Minister says his Conservatives are prepared to change their minds if the future warrants.
"If you ask me today, there is nothing ... that would indicate to me that we should look at another, quote, stimulus package," Mr. Harper told the Calgary-based Dave Rutherford radio show.
"I just don't think the circumstances now, or the circumstances in the year to come, are likely to be anything like we had in late '08 and early '09," the Prime Minister said. "But as I say ... we will always make sure we're watching this carefully and we're flexible if situations change."
How bullish or bearish Mr. Harper sounds provides insight into how much spending restraint the Conservatives might introduce in the 2012 budget. This fiscal plan will be the Tories' first effort at belt-tightening to balance the budget and pull Ottawa out of record deficits.
Mr. Harper said that while the global recovery remains fragile there are "promising signs." He said the labour market "seems to be stabilizing" in Canada, which has added 349,000 jobs over the last year.
On paper, at least, these employment gains would appear to have recouped the jobs lost during the 2008-2009 recession but economists warn a significant number of new positions are part-time work.
"My own take on this tends to be a little more on the optimistic side," Mr. Harper told CHQR's Mr. Rutherford. "I think things are much better now than we would have thought they would be if we look back some 18 months ago," he said.
"[Friday's]job numbers are not as good as we would have hoped, but they are reasonably stable, and we're beginning to see some stabilization in the U.S. job market."
Mr. Harper acknowledged Canada needs to see more job creation but said the Tories are determined to start their restraint program in the 2011-2012 fiscal year that begins next April.
"I think we're still on the right track which is to continue rolling out our stimulus for the rest of this fiscal year and of course after that we will be switching to much greater emphasis on deficit reduction and on longer term initiatives," he told reporters in Edmonton.
"So I don't think there's anything that would indicate we should change course. We've said very clearly there are going to be some bumps along the way. Canada's performance in this regard remains a lot better than most of our competitors. "