Prime Minister Stephen Harper has sparked a culture war in the federal election campaign with a claim that "ordinary people" don't care about arts funding.

Under fire for his government's $45 million in cuts to arts and culture funding, the Conservative leader yesterday said average Canadians have no sympathy for "rich" artists who gather at galas to whine about their grants.

"I think when ordinary working people come home, turn on the TV and see a gala of a bunch of people at, you know, a rich gala all subsidized by taxpayers claiming their subsidies aren't high enough, when they know those subsidies have actually gone up – I'm not sure that's something that resonates with ordinary people," Harper said in Saskatoon, where he was campaigning for the Oct. 14 election.

Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion and NDP Leader Jack Layton accused their Conservative rival of treating arts and culture with contempt.

Dion said the Conservatives are ideologically attacking the arts.

Layton meanwhile predicted Harper would sell off the CBC and undermine Canadian culture if the Conservatives win a majority government.

But Harper shrugged off his opponents as elitists preoccupied by "a niche issue."

He said he has increased the overall budget at the Department of Canadian Heritage by 8 per cent, but had to trim some arts funding. "Ordinary people understand we have to live within a budget," he said.

Layton said Harper's comments were "bizarre" and showed how out of touch he is with art and artists, most of whom earn very little.

"If what he thinks is that arts and culture is about receptions, maybe he's been going to too many receptions," the NDP leader said in Drummondville, Que.

Dion was even more pointed.

"We need to stop this man. He wants to pit everyone against everyone, Canadians against their artists," the Liberal leader said at a North Vancouver film studio.

Rejecting Harper's suggestion artists are privileged, Dion said their average wage is $23,000 a year.

"Most of them need to rent their suit and beautiful dresses at these galas," he said. "We have a great arts and culture industry. We need to protect its freedom. This man wants to censor our movies."

That was a reference to controversial Tory-backed legislation to give the heritage minister power to withdraw tax incentives – vital for productions – from films deemed objectionable.

Dion said that proves Conservatives are the party of censorship while Liberals are the party of fun.

He showed a flash of humour after a sound stage tour of a TV production tentatively titled, Harper's Island, a comedy/horror show being produced for CBS Paramount.

"I'm told that it's a scary movie. Mr. Harper lives on an island and it's time to kick him off the island," Dion quipped.

Earlier yesterday in Quebec City, Layton pledged to reinstate Harper's $45 million in arts program cuts as part of a cultural cash infusion of $125 million a year.

He said an NDP government would allow income-averaging for artists so they could spread often irregular earnings over several years.

In contrast, he predicted a Conservative majority government would privatize the CBC.

In a play on the Conservative Party's French name, an electronic NDP ad running in Montreal's subway system shows a "Conservateur" logo evolving into "Conserva-tueur de la culture," or "culture killer."

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Harper complained the ad "shows the extreme side of the NDP," but Layton said Tory cuts deserve "strong language."

Last night, the NDP leader attended a Montreal concert held to protest the Tories' cultural cutbacks. Bloc Québécois Leader Gilles Duceppe was also on hand to see performances by prominent Quebec artists, including singer-songwriters Michel Rivard and Ariane Moffatt, and folk group Mes Aïeux.

Layton and Duceppe shook hands but then sat two tables away from one another on a VIP balcony. Liberal incumbent Denis Coderre was seated one row behind, lending the star-studded event an almost all-party affair. The Conservatives were not officially represented.





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