Stephen leaves us stumpified (4 photos)

"Some of these things don't kinda get the coverage that you want," Stephen Harper was telling us last night at the Water Tower Inn.

The federal Conservative leader was talking about how his government has returned to a balanced budget with a $5 billion surplus, notwithstanding some bad months earlier this year.

If those facts aren't being reported by the news media, along with every other solitary word uttered by Harper on the campaign trail, it's certainly not for lack of trying by his political staff.

From the moment Harper's Airbus 319 charter jet (freshly wrapped in Conservative Party logo and colours) ended its inaugural flight yesterday from Toronto to Sault Ste. Marie, absolutely everything was stage-managed to ensure reporters wrote about Harper's prepared speech, and nothing else.

As local journalists and photographers arrived at Algoma's Water Tower Inn, campaign organizers required them to report to a lockdown room no later than 45 minutes prior to the scheduled start of the Conservative leader's speech.

Forbidden to come and go from the lockdown, reporters covering Harper were effectively barred from interviewing voters, including the group of demonstrators parading on the sidewalk in front of the Water Tower Inn.

This spared media representatives the distraction of having to deal with vexing side issues such as Bill C-51, the Senate scandal, pipelines and the whereabouts of more than 2,000 missing or murdered First Nations, Inuit and Métis women.

Instead, members of rival media outlets sat effectively hamstrung in the little room, enjoying each other's company.

Eventually, an RCMP sniffer dog was brought in to check all reporters' bags and camera equipment for illicit stashes of, one presumes, kibbles, Milk-Bones and other doggie treats.

No other political party does this to accredited journalists covering campaign events.

The police dog was a beautiful king shepherd.

Lest the idea occur to any ink-stained wretch to write about the dog instead of a canned speech, we were immediately told that the pretty dog could not be photographed.

We didn't try.

After all, you never know when a police dog might be an undercover sniffer.

Blowing the cover of undercover pooches serves no compelling public interest and might expose them, their families and other members of their pack to violence or even nasty social media howlers.

The certified kibble-free journalists were then ushered into a ballroom where Harper was to meet with Saultites.

But these were not ordinary Saultites.

They were hand-picked Tories, every one carefully screened to ensure only the bluest of blue-blooded Harper supporters got in the room.

Everything was scripted with meticulous care.

There was no way the Conservative leader was going to be taken off-message by hecklers or tough questioning.

Even so, reporters were instructed that no interviews with these sterling supporters could be conducted inside the inn, largely eliminating the possibility of getting local reaction to Harper's speech.

Even getting identifications of people photographed with the Conservative leader was next to impossible.

By severely limiting access before, during and after the campaign event, the party had made it almost impossible to write about anything except the leader's speech, which traditionally differs little from city to city and is already largely known to the electorate.

No room for alternative views. No reaction quotes. No baby-kissing or handshake photos with locals.

The Conservative media manipulation tactics are unlike anything in recent memory, perhaps in Canadian political history.

The speech, you ask?

Well, Mr. Harper predicted the election of Conservative candidate André Robichaud in Algoma‐Manitoulin-Kapuskasing and the re-election of Bryan Hayes In Sault Ste. Marie.

He lauded Hayes' work as chair of the House of Commons steel caucus and for his advocacy to get rid of the federal long-gun registry.

As for yesterday's confirmation from Statistics Canada that our economy slipped into a recession in the first half of this year, the Conservative leader was having none of it.

He wants us to tell you that Canada has been an "island of stability" in times of global economic turbulence.

"The Canadian economy has grown, and we learn from Statistics Canada that the Canadian economy is growing once again," Harper said.

"The economy will grow for the seventh straight year, because we have a low-tax, long-term plan for jobs and growth, and we are sticking to our plan."

"This country Canada has the strongest and the most stable financial and banking system in the entire world."

Dr. Gerry Mahar, an assistant professor in Algoma University's department of business and economics, attended last night's speech.

"It was a great speech, a good program put forward," Mahar said.

He predicted that Bryan Hayes will be re-elected as part of a Conservative majority government with increased representation from Northern Ontario.

(BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE: David Helwig's journalism career has spanned six decades beginning in the 1960s. He has covered campaign speeches and other appearances by nine of Canada's 28 prime ministers.

(PHOTO: Conservative leader Stephen Harper seen speaking at a campaign event at Algoma's Water Tower Inn in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario on September 1, 2015. Kenneth Armstrong/SooToday)

Other SooToday coverage of this story

Video: watch the entire speech here

Stephen paints the town blue (11 photos)

Video: Harper visit draws protesters