An upcoming G20 meeting in Washington is an opportunity for Canada to advance its financial policy on the world stage and be a "voice for positive change" Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Thursday.

Harper met with key financial leaders in Toronto to gather feedback on the economic crisis before an emergency G20 leaders' summit in Washington on Nov. 14-15.

The struggling global economy will be the top priority at the meeting and Canada will be an "important player" in the talks, he said.

"Canada is recognized as having entered this period with a pretty good set of policies. Nobody in the world thinks Canada was a source of any of these problems or even a complicating factor," Harper told reporters following the meeting.

"I think we're in a position where we are important players -- people will listen to us -- but not so important that people are worried we have an alternative agenda. And so these are the messages I will be taking to Washington."

U.S. president-elect Barack Obama is also expected to attend the meetings.

Harper met Thursday morning with leading economists at Toronto's C.D. Howe Institute to discuss which federal actions have helped Canada weather the global economic storm, and which have not.

"Canadians want to know where the global economy took this wrong turn and more importantly they want to know what we must do to fix it," Harper said.

"And I want to hear first-hand from Canada's leading financial and economic experts what we are getting right, what we could do better and what their ideas are for how the global economic system can be strengthened and improved."

Harper said it is not the time to close Canada's borders to foreign trade, but said it is vital the country remains "open to the world" -- possibly a subtle message to Obama, who is considered more protectionist than recent presidents.

He also said there was one clear message from the economists he met with: "Don't be afraid to run a deficit if a deficit is in the best interests of the economy," Harper said.

However, he said any long-term deficit "must be avoided."

Canada is expected to narrowly avoid a recession, according to an International Monetary Fund update released Thursday. The IMF is expecting Canada's growth to be a mere 0.3 per cent next year.

While the economy will take centre stage at the G20 meeting, Harper suggested it will also be an opportunity to share about Canada's approach to reducing greenhouse gas while balancing economic progress and energy security.

During a phone call with Obama, Harper brought up the proposition, sources tell CTV News, which America's next president seemed open to.

James Fleming, editor at the C.D. Howe Institute, told CTV.ca the meeting represented a "discussion and an exchange of views on the global credit crisis... an assessment of the situation and the actions taken so far and a discussion of the available actions going forward, both Canadian and globally."

He said about 20 economists from the institute, along with staff, were to be at the meeting with Harper.

After the roundtable, Harper was to meet privately with business executives where he will solicit feedback on the economic and fiscal update Ottawa will be releasing at the end of the month, an aide told the Toronto Star.

Some experts speculate the economic update could be closer to a mini-budget as the government strives to deal with growing economic woes.

Canada has remained largely insulated from the massive economic crunch currently underway in the U.S. and Harper hopes to take the lessons learned here, to the international forum in Washington, the Star reports.