Harper to lead cross-country spending blitz

• 7:58 am, January 17th, 2012

PRIME MINISTER STEPHEN HARPER IN EDMONTON ON JAN. 6, 2011.

Credits: (IAN KUCERAK/QMI AGENCY)

OTTAWA - Prime Minister Stephen Harper will lead a PR blitz of cross-country announcements Tuesday touting new federal spending on job-creating infrastructure investments.

Harper will make his announcement in Saguenay, Que., but Conservative ministers and MPs will fan out for simultaneous announcements in Ottawa, Hamilton, Ont., northern British Columbia and elsewhere.

Harper's office said the projects to be announced tomorrow "will create thousands of jobs and long-term economic opportunities for communities and businesses across the country. These infrastructure investments will generate long"'term economic benefits for their respective regions."

Harper's aides would not provide any other information.

The announcements Tuesday follow an "open letter" Harper wrote to his caucus and released to the media on Sunday in which he underlined the importance of economic issues to his government.

"Canadians have consistently told us the economy is their top priority," Harper said in the letter.

He has also directed his ministers to criss-cross the country to take in the views of Canadians ahead of the 2012 federal budget.

The Conservatives also hope that Canadians notice that, while they talk up the economy, the Liberals are busy defending a decision they made at a weekend policy convention in Ottawa that marijuana use should be legalized and NDP interim leader Nycole Turmel is putting out fires in her backyard in Quebec Tuesday with a speech about an NDP MP who defected last week to the Liberals.