CANADA 14 October 2008 Canada to hold general election one year early 

Prime Minister Stephen Harper, at the head of a minority government, is taking Canada to the polls one year early. The odds of a new term are against him: only one prime minister -- Liberal Lester B. Pearson in the 1960s -- has won two successive minority governments. The timing allows him to take a chance with voters before the economy softens farther. It also addresses the worry that the possible election of a liberal president in the United States in November could revitalize Canada's opposition Liberal Party.

It will be Canada's third election in four years. Harper, who says he is calling the election because the parliament is not working, is expected to campaign on a promise of stability in uncertain economic times. The economic troubles in the United States have spilled into Canada. Growth has slowed and the crucial manufacturing sector is struggling. Harper's strong suit is the disarray in the Liberal Party, led by Stephen Dion, which lost to the Conservatives in Jan 2006 after 13 years in power.

The Conservatives will need 40 percent of the vote for a majority in the House of Commons under Canada's first-past-the-post electoral system. The Conservatives now fill 127 -- 36.3 per cent -- of the 308 seats in Parliament. The Liberals have 95 -- 30.2 per cent -- Bloc Quebecois 48, the New Democrats 30 and Greens one. Three seats are held by independents, and four are vacant.

Liberal leader Stephane Dion, is staking his leadership on a "Green Shift" tax plan. A former environment minister, he wants to increase taxes on greenhouse gas emitters. The Conservatives have targeted the plan in television and radio ads, saying it will drive up energy costs even higher than the current high levels. Dion has said he would offset the higher energy prices by cutting income taxes, and describes the plan as revenue neutral.

"We need to win against the most right-wing prime minister in the history of our country ... Stephen Harper wants to give George W. Bush a third term in Ottawa," Dion said in September. Sep/08

RELATED READING:

Canada's PM calls snap election (Telegraph 5 Sep 2008)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2689817/Canadas-PM-calls-snap-election.html