OTTAWA — The Conservative government announced more than $1 billion in funding for social housing, the forestry sector and crime prevention, among other projects, in a five-day period last week, as election speculation continued to mount.

About half of that — more than $504 million — was earmarked for Quebec, including $228 million down for construction upgrades on two Montreal bridges, $154 million for economic development agencies and $50 million to modernize the Quebec City airport.

The $1 billion allocated in announcements last week was all new spending, but some of the money came from existing programs, such as those set up for infrastructure and development.

These calculations are based on the nearly 150 email alerts sent to national media between Monday and late-morning Friday — and they don’t tell the full story.

The Canada Economic Development agency for Quebec regions, for example, only sent a small handful of announcement alerts to national media, but actually had MPs out for 32 funding announcements last week. Those announcements totalled $190,658,894 in grants and loans — including $267,674 in free cash to three snowmobile clubs. The week before, the agency made 12 announcements.

Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff responded to the funding announcements Sunday by saying that Prime Minister Stephen Harper has been spending taxpayers’ money “like a drunken sailor.”

“I’m not going to surrender the economy to this guy,” Ignatieff said on CTV’s Question Period. “He’s been spending like a drunken sailor.

“Count up all the things he went across the country promoting last week — it’s a billion dollars."

Ignatieff accused the government of making announcements with only the election in mind.

"That pattern of waste and highly partisan spending, just to win an election, I think destroys his credibility as an economic manager," said Ignatieff.

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There is little that motivates politicians to increase their visibility more than a pending election, said Derek Fildebrandt, national spokesman with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.

And while the Conservatives’ heavy spending — fuelled by billions funded through the Canada Economic Action Plan — isn’t new, Fildebrandt said he had hoped the party’s spending habits had changed.

“The Conservatives recently came out and said they would not be funding sports arenas in Quebec (City) or other cities. We took that as them having some sense of austerity,” he said. “But this week’s announcements are not in that spirit. We were hoping they’d take the overspending and deficit at least half-seriously.”

But according to the Prime Minister’s Office, the reason so much funding was announced last week is simply a question of scheduling.

“During constituency week, when the House isn’t sitting, members have a greater opportunity to travel,” said spokeswoman Sara MacIntyre. “There’s planning involved to ensure that members and ministers are communicating to their constituents, and Canadians all across the country, what our priorities are and what we’re doing to secure the economic recovery.”

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With 63 announcements, funding speeches enjoyed the brightest spotlight during the national-appearance blitz that took place while Parliament was on a one-week break. But Tory MPs also were out in ridings across the country popping in for photo opportunities at institutions that have already received funding, announcing policy or honouring St. Patrick’s Day.