NDP REALITY CHECK: First page in the Conservatives' ‘Wizard of Oz’ Play Book: Play wedge politics with refugees and immigration

Canadians have reason to be concerned now that Stephen Harper has turned to the notorious Lynton Crosby – a master of “dog whistle” wedge politics.

Crosby has a reputation for playing up fears of immigration and refugees to help right-wing political parties.

He was behind John Howard’s 2001 campaign in Australia, which targeted refugees during a crisis.

In 2005, Crosby helped orchestrate Conservative Party leader Michael Howard's campaign, remembered for a series of posters about crime and immigrants asking: "Are you thinking what we're thinking?"

He was the campaign manager for David Cameron’s "bare-knuckle politics" UK Conservative campaign in 2015

And he was caught using the phrase 'f****** Muslims' while working for London, England Mayor Boris Johnson.

Stephen Harper’s decision to bring in a hardline anti-immigration, anti-refugee negative campaign specialist – during the worst refugee crisis in a generation – will only endanger non-partisan action to help Syrian refugees.

Stephen Harper must come clean on whether his campaign will reject the use of anti-immigrant and anti-refugee fear-based politics in this election.