Under growing criticism for spending more money on self congratulatory and overtly partisan stimulus advertising than on informing Canadians about the H1N1 virus, the Harper Conservatives announced a new 40 million dollar H1N1 awareness advertising campaign today (no link yet, just got the government press release in my inbox moments ago).

The campaign will feature a series of newspaper, TV, and radio ads, sharing the following six health tips with Canadians:

Eat healthy foods and stay physically active to keep your immune system strong: Showing much foresight, shortly after the 2006 federal election, Canada’s New Government introduced a child fitness tax credit to help encourage children to stay fit.

Be Careful When You Travel: Whether you’re Just Visiting Canada after being away for 34 years, or are representing Canada on the world stage by meeting with leaders such as Barack Obama, we all like to travel. Just remember to check www.voyage.gc.ca for travel notices and advisories.

Keep common surface areas clean and disinfected: For example, after playing the piano with Yo Yo Ma to critical acclaim, Prime Minister Harper was sure to disinfect the keys.

Get immunized: There are a lot of things to worry about in life – like the safety of your children now that unelected Liberal senators have stalled Prime Minister’s Harper’s ambitious get-tough-on-crime legislation. But the H1N1 vaccine is not one of these things. The odds of a side-effect are minimal, so get vaccinated.

Keep doing what you normally do, but if you get sick, stay home: Take a page from NDP and Liberal MPs who have made of a habit of skipping confidence votes if they’re feeling under the weather!

Avoid crowded places: Instead of going to an event where there will be lots of people, like a Conservative Party rally or nomination meeting, attend an event where the crowds will be sparse, like a Michael Ignatieff speech.

[For the proper list of health tips, visit here]