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OTTAWA — An attempt by the Conservatives to catch a prominent Liberal candidate with his foot in his mouth has instead wound up biting several Tory MPs, including senior cabinet minister Jason Kenney.

The political sting operation — just the latest in a series of covert Tory efforts aimed at capturing verbal gaffes by Liberals — was launched at a Nov. 13 public meeting in Canmore, Alta., by a young Conservative who’s been involved in at least one other similar plot.

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She secretly recorded a conversation about the Harper government’s plan to introduce income splitting with Banff-Airdrie Liberal candidate Marlo Raynolds and two other men.

The recording was subsequently given to Sun News Network personality Brian Lilley, who used it to bash Raynolds and the Liberals in a newspaper column and on his television show. Raynolds, Lilley reported, had said the Tory tax break would give couples with children money for “arguably nothing” — money they’d spend on TVs, cars and other things that don’t benefit the economy.