Breaking: Harper to call election for October 14th [2]
MONTREAL (AFP) — Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper is set Sunday to seek to dissolve parliament and call snap elections for October 14, [7] ending the longest minority government in the country's history, media reported Thursday.
Press group Canwest and public broadcaster Radio-Canada reported that Harper will meet with Canada's governor general on Sunday morning to make his request, bringing an end to his minority Conservative government and prompting an immediate campaign season that would last less than six weeks.
A reaction from the prime minister's office had yet to be issued.
Harper had indicated Wednesday that he had made up his mind about the election and would inform Canadians of his decision "in the coming days."
Harper, who has headed a minority government since January 2006, has insisted in recent weeks that elections were inevitable to break a deadlock with opposition parties on several issues.
However, he faces criticism that doing so would break his own timetable for the next elections in October 2009 — a date he set into law, but which allows for leeway in the case of minority governments.
DeSmogBlog will be revving up its Canada election coverage with new projects aimed at ensuring Canadians are well aware of the 2 years Harper and his Conservative government wasted paying lip service to the issue of climate change, which has been the top-of-mind issue in the country pretty much since the Conservatives first took office in January, 2006. [8]
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