TORONTO -- Talk about pandaring to the electorate.

Amid debate over trade negotiations, climate change and the economy, the federal election campaign took an odd turn Wednesday when the Conservatives issued a light-hearted statement on news that a panda at the Toronto Zoo is pregnant.

"With the exciting announcement by the Toronto Zoo this morning of giant panda Er-Shun's pregnancy, the Conservative party today committed that a re-elected Conservative government would set a target of doubling Canada's panda population by 2016," the party said in a press release.

Of course, the tongue-in-cheek promise is out of Stephen Harper's hands.

Er Shun, one of two giant pandas on loan from China, is pregnant with two fetuses from artificial insemination, the zoo announced Wednesday.

If all goes well the pair will be born by mid-October, doubling Canada's panda population, as the Conservatives proclaimed.

The party also couldn't help but sneak an economic message into its panda posturing.

Harper's balanced-budget plan would "ensure a consistent supply of bamboo and other treats for Er-Shun and Da Mao," the Conservatives said.

Er Shun and Da Mao arrived from China in 2013 and are slated to move to the Calgary Zoo in 2018.

The babies, if they survive, will live at the zoo for about two years and will likely return to China once they are weaned from Er Shun.