OTTAWA — Happy-looking families, soccer-playing children and friendly neighbours are a staple of prime time television these days as the Conservative government churns out post-budget advertising spots with the use of millions of dollars in taxpayers’ money.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper says it’s needed to make the public aware of Ottawa’s programs. But the government ad blitzes, which have cost an estimated $750 million since Harper took power, are fuelling an increasingly fierce pushback from those who see the messaging as too pro-Conservative.

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) says the ads are torqued for partisan gain, are a waste of precious financial resources and an affront to democratic fairness.

“It seems to me that everyone agrees the amount that’s being spent now is too much,” CTF federal director Aaron Wudrick said.

He notes there are legitimate reasons — such as health alerts — for federal ad spots. “But there have been obvious examples where there doesn’t seem to be any plausible reason, like advertising a program that doesn’t exist,” Wudrick said. The Conservatives have often been criticized for the 2013 Canada Job Grant ads, which ran long before the program was put in place.

Democracy Watch, the Ottawa-based citizens’ reform group, has launched a letter-writing campaign calling on federal auditor general Michael Ferguson to investigate what it calls “dishonest, wasteful ads.” And the group is demanding the Conservatives curb their use of taxpayers’ money for such promotions.

Federal opposition parties have also stepped up their complaints about the television, radio, billboard and online ads in the wake of the Harper government’s pre-election budget.

Criticizing the measures in the April 21 budget, which the NDP says will favour the rich, the party’s finance critic Nathan Cullen told MPs, “Canadians will be paying for the Conservative handouts to the wealthy for generations to come. Adding insult to injury, the Conservatives will actually spend $13.5 million of our money for ads on their bad ideas.”

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau recently said, “Canadians watching the hockey playoffs are being bombarded with millions of dollars of wasteful, partisan government ads for which they are paying. As we have seen time and time again, the Conservative government has the wrong priorities.” He said the money should be going to programs to help young business people or create student summer jobs.

Harper has dismissed the complaints. “The reality, of course, is that the things we are doing for Canadians, such as the tax benefits that go to seniors and to families, are very good for all Canadians. We want to be sure that all Canadians benefit.”

Among critics, there is a growing consensus in favour of third-party scrutiny of federal government promotional spots along the lines of the current system in Ontario. In 2004, former premier Dalton McGuinty brought in legislation empowering the provincial auditor to screen all ads to ensure they do not cross the line between public information and partisan messaging on behalf of the governing party.

Costs of ad blitzes

$52.3 Million

Harper’s government, having avoided a non-confidence vote in the Commons in late 2008, produced a budget in early 2009 with billions of dollars in spending to try to help Canada weather the global recession. The budget, labelled the Economic Action Plan, was promoted heavily in 2009-10.

$2.5 Million

In 2013, the Harper government rolled out an extensive campaign, including television spots during the hockey playoffs, to promote the Canada Job Grant, a program for employment training announced in that year’s federal budget. But the government was advertising a program that didn’t exist and would require co-operation with provincial governments over many months before being implemented. Canada’s advertising watchdog said the ads were misleading and a breach of the Canadian Code of Advertising Standards.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

$24 Million

Partly to drum up American support for the controversial Keystone XL pipeline intended to carry crude oil from Alberta to the United States, the federal government bombarded residents of Washington, D.C. with ads stressing Canada’s close relations with the U.S. It was part of a global ad campaign designed to boost Canadian petroleum exports by promoting Canada as a reliable, secure source of energy.

$13.5 Million

The federal Conservatives plan to spend $13.5 million to promote their pre-election budget delivered on April 21. The budget includes tax credits and handouts to families considered a crucial part of the Conservatives’ strategy in the fall election campaign.