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It’s a miracle – Stephen Harper has proven himself a fiscal messiah, making the economy fruitful with his low tax plan for jobs and growth.

A projected $2-billion deficit for 2014/15 turns out to have been a $1.9-billion surplus.

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The budget is balanced a year ahead of schedule and according to the Conservative leader, there is “zero to little risk” the current year will record anything other than a surplus too. (The gnomes in the Finance department say the April-to-June quarter saw a $5-billion surplus.)

“There’s no reason to proceed with anything other than our low tax plan for jobs and growth,” the Conservative leader said at an event in Kamloops, B.C.

Glory, hallelujah, amen. Vote Conservative.

That, of course, is what the Tories would like you to believe. But the miracle of turning deficits into surpluses is a little less supernatural on closer inspection.

The release of the annual financial report in the middle of an election campaign is suspicious enough. The fact that the Finance Department was prepared to sanction a budget that projected a $2-billion deficit last April and now turns out to be a near $2-billion surplus, suggests its integrity has been seriously compromised by the politicians.