Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced Sunday that the 39th Parliament has been dissolved and a general election will be held on October 14.
Harper's minority Conservative government assumed power in January 2006 following 12 straight years of Liberal rule. A parliament legislation brought in by the Conservatives set the next election for October 2009. Harper chose to call an early election because he sees now as the best time for his party to secure a fresh mandate, and possibly a long-coveted majority government.
With only 127 seats in the 308-seat parliament and other seats filled by three opposition parties, the Conservatives are liable to being toppled at any time. Even if the Prime Minister had not called an early election, it was unlikely that they would survive until 2009.
In fact for the past few months, the Conservatives had expected to be taken down on several confidence votes. And what was crucial to prompt Harper to make up his mind, is that the Liberals mused seriously all summer about toppling the government after parliament resumes for its Autumn session.
Rather than waiting for the opposition, Harper took matters into his own hands so as to take control of the election timing to best suit the end of his own party.
Economically, this is also the best time for the Conservatives. Dragged by a slowdown in the US economy and the high energy cost, Canada's economy has been sluggish this year and may plunge into a recession in 2009. An election campaign next year would be a nightmare for Harper because crabby voters tend to blame the sitting government for the bad economy and punish it by their ballots.
"Stephen Harper wants to rush into an election before Canadians can realize how little he has done to prepare our country to deal with the slowdown of the economy," said Stephane Dion, leader of the Liberal Party.
Harper chose to launch the election campaign on September 7 also because he wanted to avoid three by-elections scheduled on September 8. The Conservatives are very likely to lose in all three of them, further reducing their lead in parliament over the Liberals, who hold 95 seats.
Lastly, experts pointed out that Harper also might want to hold the votes before the US presidential election in November, which could put Democratic Barack Obama in the White House and encourage Canadian voters to choose the Liberals, which are considered ideologically similar to the Democrats.
Economy and leadership will take the center stage in the conservative's election campaign. Depicting himself as a "strong leader", Harper is not expected to promise major tax cuts and will vow to keep the budget in surplus. He will also reiterate his determination to crack down on crime, boost the military and strengthen sovereignty in the Arctic, among others.
Recent polls suggested that the coming election will probably result in a minority Conservative government, who also stands the chance of winning a majority.
Compared with the 28 percent public support for the Liberals, the Conservatives have been put at 38 percent, close to the 40 percent needed for a majority.
This will be Canada's third national ballot in four years. Besides the Conservatives and the Liberals, the separatist Bloc Quebecois occupied 48 seats, the New Democrats 30 and the Green Party one in the 39th parliament. Three seats were held by independents, and four were vacant.
(Xinhua News Agency September 8, 2008)
