Flaherty frets over Ontario economy - and stands by Hudak endorsement

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Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty is standing by his warnings of economic trouble should Ontario fail to elect a provincial Tory government this week – but he says his comments should be expected given his own political past.

Mr. Flaherty waded into the Ontario election with both feet on Friday, endorsing Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak at a business-style lunch in Toronto.

"I was kind of surprised that anyone was surprised that I supported the [Progressive]Conservatives in Ontario," Mr. Flaherty told reporters in Whitby on Monday. "After all, I served for 10½ years in the Legislature as a [Progressive]Conservative. I was the minister of finance in Ontario. I was deputy premier. Tim Hudak and I were elected together in 1995 and we're good friends and my primary concern is always fiscal responsibility, which I'm worried about in the province of Ontario."

Mr. Flaherty said he's encouraging all provincial governments to follow Ottawa's track for balanced budgets by 2014-15. The Ontario government isn't planning to balance its books until 2017-2018, a timeline adopted in the party platforms of the Liberals, Progressive Conservatives and NDP.

"I worry about any government that might not exercise the necessary fiscal responsibility," Mr. Flaherty added. "There's a lesson to be learned from what's going on Greece, what has happened in other countries in Europe that got into large public debt situations. It gets out of control."

Federal NDP finance critic Peggy Nash warned last week that Mr. Flaherty's strong support of Mr. Hudak could harm relations between Ottawa and Ontario should the Progressive Conservatives lose Thursday's vote.

Meanwhile, other federal parties are also weighing in to provincial campaigns.

Interim Liberal Leader Bob Rae wrote on Twitter Sunday that he was heading to Winnipeg to campaign for the provincial Grits. He also wrote a note Monday morning stating that Ontario Liberal Leader Dalton McGuinty is "best for premier."

Several federal NDP staffers are on leave to work on provincial campaigns and Green Party Leader Elizabeth May has campaigned for the provincial Greens in Prince Edward Island, where voters go to the polls Monday.