Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty claimed Stephen Harper was promising Canadians that they could have their cake and eat it too during the 2004 federal election.
"You can't cut taxes by a significant amount and say that you are going to make significant new investments in health care and in the military and in whatever else," McGuinty told reporters.
Harper promised to maintain a balanced budget while implementing a plan calling for more than $58 billion in tax cuts and new spending over the next five years.
Among other things, Harper promised to increase spending by $7 billion on the military and $13 billion on health care.
The Ontario Liberals introduced a budget a month earlier with an unpopular new health tax after promising not to raise taxes. Since then, Harper successfully linked the much-criticized provincial Liberals to Paul Martin's federal Liberal party.
