Tories to launch TV ad campaign against Dion

The Conservative party intends to run TV attack ads against new Liberal leader Stephane Dion, CTV News has learned.

Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenny will hold a briefing tomorrow in Ottawa to unveil the ads that mock Dion's leadership abilities and his environmental record, sources say.

Party insiders say the Conservatives will buy TV spots during the Super Bowl and other prime time slots for maximum impact.

They stress the ads are not part of a strategy to force an early election.

Sources say the party is concerned that Dion is getting a free ride from the mainstream media and the Tories want to go over the heads of the national media in Ottawa to reach ordinary Canadians.

The ads -- which party officials showed to the Conservative caucus on Friday -- cast doubt on Dion's environmental credentials and leadership abilities, according to sources that have seen them.

One Conservative insider told CTV News the party "wants to define Dion before the Liberals get the chance to define him with a free ride from the media."

One of the ads is a clip from the Liberal leadership campaign.

"You don't know how hard it is to set priorities," Dion states in one ad as a perplexed Ignatieff looks on, according to a Tory source.

Another ad mocks Dion's failure as environment minister to meet the Kyoto climate change targets.

"We didn't get it done." Deputy Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff says to Dion in an exchange taken from the Liberal leadership race.

Tory MPs roared when the ads were played for them at the caucus retreat.

"They are all Liberals in the ads and they are quite funny," one Tory MP said.

It is not known how much the ads will cost but the Conservative Party is flush with money compared to cash-strapped Liberal Party.

Polls show the Tories and Liberals in a virtual tie and most observers say it is unlikely there will be an election this spring.

Liberal Party national director George Young told CTV the attack ads show "how desperate the Tories are" and he predicted "it could hurt them with the public."

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