Our government has been in a surplus position up until this year. We should be able to recover to a surplus position shortly, as quickly as the economy recovers. So, we're able to do the kind of stimulus that you see in the United States without deteriorating our debt position in the long-term.

Canadians know that the promise of a recession didn't happen because of anything we did here. If you look at all the causes of the recession, problems in mortgage markets, the problems in the banking sector, the problems in government finance in countries like Greece, none of those problems were in present Canada.

I intend to lead my party, which is the only party that has a serious policy on the No. 1 priority of the people and that is the economy.

Too often in the past, our Armed Forces have returned to Canada from their trials with little fanfare. Not so today. Canadians across the country came out in force, united in appreciation, to honour the bravery, heroism, strength and sacrifice of those who fought for freedom and security in Afghanistan.

Look, I think the worst case scenario is obvious. I think first of all it doesn't work for very long. It's an unstable government that raises taxes and destroys the image we're building for Canada as a strong place to invest.

There is a dependence in the region that breeds a culture of defeatism.

It's the government's obligation to look really to the third parties to get the support to govern.