Stumping in vote-rich southern Ontario Tuesday, Canadian Alliance leader Stockwell Day said his party's flat-tax plan would help stem the flow of highly skilled Canadians into the United States.

At a breakfast meeting in Oakville, Day attacked Liberal leader Jean Chrétien for saying that Canadians who don't like the tax rate should just leave.

"That's not an attitude that should be sent out to our hard-working people, that's sort of the Little Bo Peep attitude: just leave them alone and they'll come home wagging their tails behind them," said Day.

Stockwell Day speech
Stockwell Day speech

Day said his party's single-rate tax plan, would ensure more high-tech workers and university graduates stay in Canada. The Alliance plan is campaigning for a single 17 per cent tax rate to be implemented at the end of its mandate.

He repeated that theme at campaign appearance at a university in St. Catharines, where he was met by a small handful of protesters. They accused Day of being homophobic, sexist and racist.




He got his message somewhat mixed during a stop in Niagara Falls where he compared the brain drain to water flowing south from Lake Erie to the rest of the Great Lakes. In fact the water flows north.

The brain drain theme was taken up by Alliance MP Deborah Grey in her party's daily press conference.

"Last year Canada lost the equivalent of a city, about 65,000 people to the United States. No one can claim this is not a serious problem."

Grey said the Alliance plan would make the Canadian tax system more competitive with the U.S.

"It's clear that the cause of brain drain is Canada's incredibly high tax system. It's the highest in the G7," she said.

Day's campaign concentrated on Ontario for the rest of the day, where the Alliance needs a major breakthrough to challenge the Liberals.