Unlike Stephen Harper who avoided the subject during his last campaign stop in Welland, Ont., NDP leader Jack Layton confronted job losses head on during his first visit to Welland — a Niagara-area riding facing an exodus of manufacturing jobs.

"Stephen Harper promised to make your jobs his No. 1 priority. Remember that?" Layton asked supporters during a town hall meeting Tuesday.

"Turns out Stephen Harper's 'jobs plan' was to hand billions in tax giveaways to companies like John Deere, without requiring that even one job be protected."

Weeks before the 2008 election, the farm machinery producer announced it would shut its Welland plant and ship 800 jobs south. And just weeks ago, Henniges Automotive announced it would be laying off 300 workers.

"Stephen Harper had the gall to come here in this campaign and not mention jobs once," Layton added.

"When the prime minister comes to Welland and doesn't talk about jobs, we know Ottawa is broken."

While Harper presented a plan to scrap the long-gun registry during his last stop in Welland, Layton elaborated on his $1.8-billion job creation strategy — much of which was unveiled earlier in the campaign.

Among his commitments:

- Provide a job creation tax credit worth $4,500 per new hire.

- Reduce the small business tax rate to nine per cent from 11.

- Extend the accelerated capital cost allowance aimed at encouraging new investment in manufacturing.

- Develop a national shipbuilding strategy to foster shipyards like the one in nearby Port Colborne.

Won by the NDP's Malcolm Allen by just 300 votes in 2008, Welland is also shaping up to be one of the toughest three-way races in the nation.

The longtime Liberal riding traded red for NDP orange in the last election, but the Conservatives placed a close second.

Layton lent a boost to his incumbent, noting he was front and centre in getting a "landmark" NDP motion passed to "stop job-killing takeovers" and securing a "billion-dollar EI boost to help families."

He did not mention that Allen, who had spoken out against the gun registry in the past, voted to save it last fall.

Layton has said the NDP now favours fixing what's wrong with the registry in a bid to bridge the divide between rural and urban Canadians.

tcohen@postmedia.com

Twitter.com/tobicohen