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By Theophilos Argitis Jan. 23 (Bloomberg) — Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper , facing protests today across the country over his decision to suspend Parliament, said his government is using the break to ready the second year of its stimulus package and draft plans to fight the record budget deficit. “We’ve obviously had a successful year rolling out infrastructure projects, but we now have to turn our mind to the broader agenda, to some of the economic challenges including deficit reduction ahead of us,” Harper, 50, said in Ottawa. The Conservatives’ lead over the main opposition Liberals has shrunk since Harper suspended Parliament last month, recent polls show. Opposition parties said the move was aimed at avoiding questions about the Canada’s role in Afghanistan and the treatment of detainees handed over to local forces. Liberal Party Leader Michael Ignatieff today is scheduled to speak at a rally in Ottawa to protest Harper’s suspension of the legislature. It’s the second time the government has suspended Parliament over the past year. Harper has said the move was needed to help the government plan an agenda to secure an economic recovery. Dwindling Support An EKOS Research Associates poll this week showed the Conservatives, also known as Tories, falling into a statistical tie with the main opposition Liberals amid opposition criticism that the suspension was an abuse of power. When asked about the protests today, Harper said the government was “busy” and preparing for the new session of Parliament. Support for the governing Conservatives fell to 32 percent in a Jan. 13-19 poll, from 40 percent in October, according to the EKOS poll of 2,892 Canadians. Support for the Liberals climbed to 31 percent from 26 percent according to the poll, which had a margin of error of 1.8 percentage points. Harper, who begins his fifth year in power today, earlier this week made changes to his cabinet that included placing a veteran party official to help battle the budget deficit and prepare the country for the end of stimulus spending. Canada will post a record C$55.9 billion ($53 billion) budget deficit for the current fiscal year. Stockwell Day , who once headed the Canadian Alliance party, a predecessor to Harper’s Conservatives, moved from trade to the Treasury Board. Day said he wants to see a “road map” to erase the record budget deficit. Harper today also announced the government would match all donations from Canadians for Haiti “dollar-for-dollar.” The government had previously said it would match as much as C$50 million ($47.2 million) in donations. “Giving has exceeded our wildest expectations and we will continue to match pledges dollar for dollar,” Harper said To contact the reporters on this story: Theophilos Argitis in Ottawa at targitis@bloomberg.net