Conservative Leader Stephen Harper was put on the defence by his four opponents throughout the televised French-language leaders' debate over his economic and environmental policies.
Harper found himself being picked on throughout the debate and often resorted to a tight smile during the attacks.
Both NDP Leader Jack Layton and Bloc Quebecois Gilles Duceppe slammed Harper early on, calling him a clone of U.S. President George W. Bush. They said Harper's policies could lead Canada into a financial disaster similar to the one south of the border.
Liberal Leader Stephane Dion said that Harper squandered the surplus left to him by the previous Liberal government.
"Mr. Harper, you inherited the best economic situation any other prime minister has had in Canada after the Liberal years. In two-and-a-half years, you've weakened this economy. Economic growth in Canada the first six months of this year has been the lowest in the G8," Dion said.
Dion promised to launch a 30-day action plan to protect Canada's economy from the financial crisis in the U.S.
Harper, who was the first to speak in the debate, said that Canada is not the United States and promoted a "stay the course" approach.
"The fundamentals of Canada's economy are strong," Harper declared. "The biggest challenge is to stay on the right track . . . lower taxes and target our spending."
Harper said it was not the time for new taxes, a shot at Dion's Green Shift.
Green Leader Elizabeth May called for greater government regulation on Bay Street.
"It's very important to establish financial regulations for finance companies. It's impossible to remain unregulated in a situation of speculation and greed and everything we've seen happen in the U.S. And, we need to invest in our own economy to create jobs," she said.
The environment
The environment quickly became a key issue even as the moderator told the leaders repeatedly that it would be discussed later.
Harper took a lot of heat on the Conservatives' environmental record as the debate turned contentious, with each party leader talking over the others and attacking the prime minister.
"Perhaps you don't understand that the (climate-change) crisis is serious," May said directly to Harper.
Duceppe pointed out that the Conservative plan uses 2006 as a reference point for carbon-gas emissions to base Canada's reductions on.
"If there's any consensus in Quebec, it's on Kyoto.... Everyone agrees we should truly apply it, with 1990 as a reference lead -- let's not forget the past like Mr. Harper," he said.
May also hammered away at Harper on the levels issue, saying the 2006 levels had "increased by more than 24 per cent over the 1990 levels."
She forcibly attacked Harper's environmental plan, calling it a "fraud" and "ridiculous."
Harper responded by saying, "We've set targets -- hard targets -- of 20 per cent (reductions) by 2020. That's one of the most aggressive plans in the world."
"I meet people, the leaders of countries around the world, that recognize this."
At this point, May lost her cool.
"Give me a break," she belted in English. "That's ridiculous. I'm sorry, that's a joke."
Harper also blamed the Liberals for not responding to the climate crisis in the 1990s.
"The problem here is we can't reduce green house emission of the past," Harper said. "We are all concerned about the future of the planet . . . and there are challenges ahead of us."
Arts and culture
Duceppe and Layton combined to skewer Harper on his arts and culture record -- a major election issue in Quebec.
The Tory government has cut $45 million from arts and culture programs and Harper recently outraged the arts community with some controversial remarks. He said "ordinary Canadians" don't relate to whining artists at "rich galas" subsidized by the taxpayer.
But Harper sang a different tune during the debate.
"I personally support the arts and culture," Harper said.
Originally, the economy was only allotted 12 minutes of the debate but was given 30 minutes because of the U.S. financial crisis and Canadian's worries.
Issues such as Afghanistan, crime and health care took a back seat because of the changes.
A surreal moment
In a rather surreal part of the debate, the leaders were asked to say something positive about the person sitting to their left.
Each leader managed to say a few nice words before slamming them for the majority of their allotted time.
May was particularly amusing as she told Harper he was "a good father" and had "lovely kids." She then proceeded to say he was taking Canada down a dangerous path.
May's French-language skills were considered in question before the debates, but early debate reviews said her French was quite passable.
After the debate, May told reporters she was quite "nervous" before her first leaders' debate. But she said she had fun throughout it.
