The federal Conservative party launched a new set of campaign-style attack ads aimed squarely at Liberal Leader Stephane Dion on Tuesday.
The three new ads in French which will be broadcast in Quebec starting Wednesday.
The ads mark the second phase of an aggressive campaign by the Tories to derail Dion, as he tries to build momentum leading up to an election campaign that some Liberals predict will come shortly after the Harper government delivers its spring budget.
The Tories released ads in English last month, using excerpts from a Liberal leadership debate to attack Dion on his environmental record and to attempt to paint him as a weak leader.
The new ads are quite different, taking on a humorous, parodic tone.
One of the ads, titled "Porte," shows a "Parti Liberal" door covered with yellow police tape with the words "scandal" written in black letters.
With foreboding music playing in the background, a cut-out of Dion's head, followed by one of Jean Chretien's above him, suddenly pop out from behind the door, attempting to break through the tape.
"What the ad is saying is that you showed the Liberals the door last year, and they want to come back now to haunt you," said CTV's Deputy Ottawa Bureau Chief Rosemary Thompson.
Another ad shows a red Liberal domino falling, triggering a long line of dominos with words such as "scandal" and "arrogance" to topple. It all comes to a halt when the dominos fall against a solid, Tory-blue domino.
Thompson says Dion is probably not seen as "arrogant" in the eyes of many voters. "And we know that in terms of the sponsorship scandal, he testified and he wasn't found to have anything to do with the sponsorship scandal," she told 麻豆影视net.
"Still though, the Conservatives are trying to tie him to that past, and trying to remind Quebecers of that past."
Asked why the Tories are running the ads now, Industry Minister Maxime Bernier suggested it's a pre-emptive strike against the Liberals.
He told the Canadian Press that Dion has indicated the Liberals are ready to go into an election campaign, "and so we're ready, too."
While Prime Minister Stephen Harper said as recently as yesterday that he's in no rush to go to the polls, many political experts suggest the Tories may actually want a spring election.
Harper announced on Monday a $1.5 billion national fund to fight climate change. He earmarked $350 million of that fund to go to Quebec, giving Premier Jean Charest a boost on the eve of a provincial election.
While the federal budget must pass in the House of Commons for the money to flow to the provinces, some experts suggest the Tories wouldn't mind if it was, in fact, defeated.
"There is a lot of speculation that if Charest wins the provincial election ... that perhaps there will be a window of opportunity for Mr. Harper," said Thompson.
Harper, who has a good relationship with the Liberal premier, would "see a boost in support in Quebec," said Thompson, "and perhaps he would want (an election) in the spring to benefit from the boost of a Charest victory."
