Harper Conservatives go positive with election-style ad

We’ve all gotten used the Conservative Party’s negative attack ads targeting Liberal leader Justin Trudeau.

Well, here’s something very different. The Tories have released a positive ad.

Dubbed “We’re better off with Harper”, the video includes propitious music with a lively Stephen Harper boasting about Canada’s “solid” economy.

A link to the ad was sent, via email, to party supporters on Monday evening.

"With the leadership of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, we’ve strengthened our economy and redefined Canada’s place in the world," noted the email penned by the party’s Director of Communications Cory Hann.

"It’s a record I’m proud of."

[ Related: Is Justin Trudeau really “in over his head”? Canadians weigh in ]

According to political communications consultant Gerry Nicholls, the new positive vibe doesn’t mean that the party has disavowed itself from negative ads.

"The Conservatives are delivering a ‘one two punch,’" Nicholls told Yahoo Canada News.

"They use negative ads to paint Trudeau as incompetent and positive ads to say that Harper is a good economic manager. The message is clear: Why risk ruining our economy by voting for Trudeau, who probably couldn’t manage a lemonade stand?"

[ Related: Tories seem to have trouble defining Justin Trudeau to voters ]

There are signs that, maybe, that strategy is starting to work.

A new Forum Research poll, released this week, suggests that the Conservatives have been gaining ground on the Liberals.

The Liberals now sit at 40 per cent support nationally, the Tories are at 34 per cent and the NDP at just 18 per cent.

"A 16 point lead [for the Liberals] in July became a 9 point lead in August and a 6 point lead now," notes the survey report.

The Tories still have some to work to do, however. Forum predicts that, with these numbers, Justin Trudeau’s party can win a slim majority in 2015.

(Photo: Screen grab from YouTube)

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