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It’s fair to say the “scary” Andrew Scheer meme has not really caught on.

As the Conservative leader pointed out at this year’s Press Gallery dinner, “It’s like trying to waterboard the Pillsbury Doughboy.”

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Instead, a motley collection of unions and leftists, Engage Canada, is launching a new front – an attack ad claiming “weak” Andrew Scheer will cut taxes for “his wealthy friends”, cancel child benefits and privatize Canada’s health care system.

This is the same group that warned if Stephen Harper was re-elected in 2015, it would be the end of history.

Thankfully, reforms to the elections advertising rules mean Engage Canada will have nowhere near the firepower it had four years ago when unions like Unifor and the United Steelworkers contributed more than $400,000 each. The new rules limit third parties to a cap of $1 million in the pre-campaign period, from June 30 until the writ drops.