Canada heads into winter election campaign

By Randall Palmer and David Ljunggren

OTTAWA (Reuters) – Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin
launched a rare winter election campaign on Tuesday after his
minority Liberal government lost a vote of confidence on Monday
night over a corruption scandal.

Martin spoke to Governor General Michaelle Jean,
representative of head of state Queen Elizabeth, to have
Parliament formally dissolved and set the vote for January 23.

It was the fifth time in Canadian history that a minority
government had been toppled by the opposition, in this case
because of a scandal over kickbacks to prominent Liberal Party
members in Quebec from a federal sponsorship program.

Martin accused the opposition of cynicism and said it
brought down the government for no good reason.

“A minority Parliament means the opposition can force an
election whenever it chooses. In this case, I believe ambition
has overwhelmed common sense,” he told reporters in the rain
outside Rideau Hall, the governor general’s residence.

The Liberals, who have governed a majority of the time
since Canada was founded in 1867, are seeking their fifth
straight term since the Conservatives were defeated in 1993.

Martin’s task is to deflect attention from the kickbacks
scandal. He will point out that he was personally exonerated by
a judicial inquiry and will seek to show that the Liberals are
the party of the future.

All three opposition parties have said they will focus on
clean government in their campaigns, but they also must roll
out ideas to persuade the public they are not just
anything-but-Liberals.

Conservative leader Stephen Harper vied with Martin to
present an image of hope for the future and referred repeatedly
to the need for change after 12 years of Liberal rule, a
sentiment increasingly reflected in national polls.

His strongest words referred to the Liberal record as he
spoke on national television.

“On January 23, you will finally be able to hold the
Liberals accountable for stealing your money, accountable for
breaking your trust and accountable for failing to deliver on
your priorities,” he said.

The Liberals pounced on other remarks Harper made on gay
marriage to reporters on Tuesday. Harper said that if he became
prime minister he would look at introducing legislation banning
gay marriages, which were legalized in July.

Liberal spokesman Marc Roy derided the remarks as “very
right-wing” and an attempt to “topple human rights.” Harper
believes the issue resonates with a substantial segment of
Canadians, including immigrants, who usually vote Liberal.

The other two opposition parties, the separatist Bloc
Quebecois and the left-leaning New Democratic Party, look set
to gain enough seats to prevent either the Liberals or the
Conservatives from getting a majority in Parliament.

An Ipsos-Reid poll taken on Monday night after the
government fell showed the Liberals’ lead over the
Conservatives had vanished and the two parties were now tied at
31 percent.

Three other polls released on Monday and Tuesday, but taken
earlier, had put the Liberals at 35 to 36 percent, five to six
points ahead of the Conservatives.

The biggest thorn in the Liberals’ side is the dominance of
the Bloc Quebecois in Quebec, where the kickbacks scandal was
centered. The Bloc won 54 seats in the June 2004 election and
looks set to retain most of them.

The 55-day campaign is the longest since 1984 and longer
than the 36 days required by law. That time frame could help
divert attention from the kickback scandal and leave room for
the opposition to trip up.

Martin said the campaign’s length was also because of an
intention to take a break over the Christmas season. The other
parties had already called for an informal break between
Christmas and New Year.