Canada May Have Missed the Worst of the Mortgage Crisis, But You Can't Blame the Conservatives for Lack of Trying

From Saturday's Globe and Mail:

"Just yesterday, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty repeated the mantra that the government acted early to get rid of risky mortgages. What he and Prime Minister Stephen Harper do not explain, however, is that the expansion of zero-down, 40-year mortgages began with measures contained in the first Conservative budget in May of 2006."

If only they'd been in office longer, we too could be enjoying the kind of meltdown we're seeing south of the border.

Will this effect Harper's recent surge in popularity? A month ago, I'd have said this would be a heavy blow, but seeing as how clumsy partisan attacks, blatant lies and stoking the flames of separatist have won him support, I couldn't begin to guess at what Canadians look for in a leader these days.