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The Conservatives are promising to give $400 million to help Canada's battered manufacturing sector as part of their campaign platform, and would cancel plans to restrict which film and TV projects are eligible to receive tax credits.

Conservative Leader Stephen Harper announced the party's full election platform in Toronto on Tuesday, one week before Canadians go to the polls.

Harper is also pouring funds into Ontario and Quebec's technology sectors in an attempt to swing votes back in his favour in the vital battlegrounds.

Some $400 million will go to the Strategic Aerospace and Defence Initiative and the Automotive Innovation Fund, Harper revealed.

The money for the tech sector is intended to provide a boost for the flailing manufacturing industry. It would be injected over the next four years, and would be repayable.

The platform also makes changes to controversial tax eligibility legislation for film projects, which had been passed in the House of Commons as part of a larger omnibus bill. The changes allowed government to have the final say on which projects qualified for the exemption, and many in the arts community said it was tantamount to censorship.

The Conservatives had defended the move by saying it was designed to ensure taxpayers didn't foot the bill for pornography or for films deemed "offensive."

However, Harper appears to have changed his mind in an attempt to win votes in Quebec -- where opposition to the bill was most pronounced -- as poll numbers show a slide for the Conservatives in the province.

"We will take into account the serious concerns that have been expressed by film creators and investors," says the platform.

Steve Hoban of Copperheart Entertainment, who produced this year's Canadian film "Young People F---ing," told The Canadian Press it was "good news all around." The film became a focus for debate about the legislation, largely because of its attention-grabbing title.

Actor Wendy Crewson said Harper appeared to be boosting arts funding to shore up support.

"I think that as we've seen Stephen Harper's numbers begin to soften a bit this week, he's been struggling to regain some momentum," she told Â鶹ӰÊÓnet. "I think it's too little, too late. But, in fact, he does see that there's a problem and he is listening to groups who say we need more funding -- and stable funding -- for the arts."

Here are some more details from the Conservative platform:

• The total cost of the four-year platform is projected at close to $8.7 billion.
• The final year would be the most costly, at $2.8 billion.
• It projects a cumulative surplus of $8 billion over the four years.
• The platform pledges $20 million a year to help the forestry industry market its products abroad.
• It also promises $1.6 billion to help manufacturing and resource industries.

It comes as governments around the world take action to protect their economies and private investors amid the fallout from the U.S. financial slowdown.

Harper also put renewed focus on the economy during Tuesday's campaign announcement, saying his government began taking steps early and decisively, over a year ago, to protect against the slowdown currently hitting the U.S.

"Due to these actions we are not in the position of having to bailout our financial sector," Harper said.

He even quoted himself warning that the economy was headed for a slowdown.

Rather than release his entire platform earlier in the campaign, Harper has rolled it out one announcement at a time, saying the media is more likely to cover the individual announcements.

The Conservative's 41-page platform is dubbed "The True North Strong and Free: Stephen Harper's plan for Canadians."