Speaking at a Toronto news conference Tuesday, Harper unequivocally ruled out a deficit at any time during his term in office if he wins the federal election next week.

That is something that sets him apart from opposition parties, whose promises would push the country into the red, Harper said.

The Prime Minister acknowledged that the economy is going through a period of turmoil, but said that emphasizes the need for steady leadership from government.

This is not the time to panic and begin responding to problems with new spending programs, Harper said, adding that voters will have a clear choice to make next week. They can opt for his government's measured response to global economic conditions or choose an opposition party that would spend 10 times more money, raise taxes and run deficits, he said.

A prime minister sometimes has to be hard-headed, Harper said, and tell Canadians the truth. Panicking, he said, would send wrong signals to stock markets. The markets go up and down, he said, and there is little a government can do to change that.

By Geoff Matthews, This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it , edited by Stephen Huebl, This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

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