The sad nature of what we are facing under a government that has no idea how to do what is right for this country is just too bad
Oct. 7: "I think there are probably some great buying opportunities emerging in the stock market as a consequence of all this panic."
Asked whether he would unequivocally rule out a deficit under his government: "Yes. ... Yesterday I think I was asked one question about whether we would run a deficit and I said, 'No.' That's my answer."
Oct. 11: "The fact of the matter is independent analysts, including the International Monetary Fund, say that Canada is not going to go into recession with the current world environment and its current set of domestic policies. We're the one country that's going to continue to show some growth."
Nov. 23: "The most recent private-sector forecasts suggest the strong possibility of a technical recession the end of this year, the beginning of next.
"I am surprised at this. I am also further surprised, more importantly, by deflationary pressure that we're seeing around the world. This is a worrying development, one of the reasons why it may well be necessary to take unprecedented fiscal stimulus."
Dec. 15: "The truth is, I've never seen such uncertainty in terms of looking forward to the future. .... I'm very worried about the Canadian economy."
He wouldn't rule out a depression, saying it “could be” possible, although he quickly added he believed the world had learned enough from the 1930s to avoid another one.
Dec. 19: “Some people are talking in the neighbourhood of a five to 10 billion dollar deficit. Our own assessment is frankly that will not be sufficient given the challenges we're facing,” Harper told CTV News in a year-end interview.
“I think what will be more realistic in terms of the kind of stimulus our economy is going to need is going to be in the 20-billion to 30-billion dollar range.”