Stephen Harper, Kathleen Wynne trade barbs over pensions

Federal party leaders were not alone in trading barbs in the first three daysof what will be the longest federal election campaign in modern history.

Ontario Premier KathleenWynne, who has said she will campaign hard for Liberal Leader JustinTrudeau,was critical on Mondayof StephenHarper's decision to call an 11-weekcampaign on Sunday.

Today, it was Harper's turn to take a shot at the Ontario premierduring a campaign stop in Toronto.

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Harper suggested it was Wynne's poor performance as premier thatwasto blame for their frosty relationship, after he was askedwhether it waspolitically risky to be picking a fight with the leader of Canada's largest province.Vote-rich Ontario helped propelthe Conservatives to majority victory in 2011.

"I think I willobserve what a senior official told me when I took office. They said, 'You will have your best relations with the premiers who are doing a good job in their own jurisdiction,'" Harper said, drawing laughs and applause from the crowd.

Harper, who hasbeen criticized by some ofCanada's premiers for not meetingwith them as a group, defended himself by saying he had had "literally hundreds of meetings and telephone calls" with premiers since his party was elected to office in 2006.

While disagreementsbetween Ontario and the federal government have always existed, the latest irritant between the two leaders stems fromHarper's decision not to help WynneadministerOntario's new pension plan.

"There are Liberal and NDP governments whose major ask of the federal government is that we hike taxes on workers and small businesses for the Canada Pension Plan.

"Workers and small businesses in Ontario and across this country reject that policy," Harper said. "They do not want that, they want options like the tax-free savings accounts that we created and doubled, like the registered pooled pension planand other benefits.

"Canadians want to make their own decisions on savings, they do not want to be taxed by governments in this country," Harper said.

Harper 'actively obstructs': Wynne

Wynnehit back in a tersestatement issued by her office Tuesday afternoon.

"Ontario needs a new federal government to work with.Stephen Harper and his ministers preferred to play political games rather than work with provinces in the best interest of the people of this country. This is particularly the case in Ontario. You only have to look to the example of what has transpired with the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan."

Wynneblamed Harper for adding tothe"high anxiety" felt by voters in Ontarioover retirement security.

"It is an affront to the people of Ontario and their futures when he actively obstructs what everyone knows is needed," Wynne said, adding that what Ontario needs is "a real partner in Ottawa."

Whether Harper's Conservatives pay a price for picking a fight with the Ontario leader will not be known until Oct. 19.

The latest numbers by analyst ric GrenierputHarper's Conservatives ahead in Ontario.

"The Conservativesappear to have recently experienced an uptick in support, averaging 36 per cent," Grenier said in an analysis published by CBC on Tuesday.

"That is a gain of four points since mid-July. The NDP has surpassed the Liberals in the average, though at 30 per cent to 29 per cent the race remains tight."