July 10, 2012 - 3:43 PM
OTTAWA - The federal New Democrats are hitting back at a Conservative summer ad campaign that targeted NDP Leader Tom Mulcair.
New NDP ads in English and French posted on the party website go after Prime Minister Stephen Harper's economic record, complete with ominous drumbeats and unflattering photos.
Political attack ads were once rare in Canada between elections, but the Harper Conservatives have used them extensively to help define their adversaries.
Many pundits were surprised when a Tory barrage did not materialize in March, immediately after New Democrats chose Mulcair to lead the official Opposition.
But the Tory anti-Mulcair ads finally started airing in late June and New Democrats are responding.
Political communications expert Jonathan Rose of Queen's University says the NDP ads are a good way to drum up interest and motivate the party base during the summer doldrums — and the ads' low production values suggest the NDP didn't have to spend a lot making them.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2012