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HALIFAX — A day after the International Monetary Fund endorsed the Liberal government’s economic plan, candidates for the leadership of the Conservative Party are pushing back, saying the “left-wing ideology” endorsed by the IMF will take Canada deeper into debt with no plan to pay it off.

IMF managing director Christine Lagarde praised Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his government during a visit to Ottawa Tuesday, saying she hopes that Canada’s economic approach of spending to create growth will “go viral” around the world.

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That didn’t sit well with those gathered in Halifax for the Conservative Party’s two-day caucus retreat.

“If she’s spouting left-wing ideology, she’s wrong,” Tony Clement, a leadership candidate and the former Treasury Board president in Stephen Harper’s government, told reporters.

“I don’t care if it’s the Queen of Sheba. If you’re advancing theories based on left-wing ideology that means more tax and more spending, it will not create jobs — and I will stand by that forever.”