As predicted, Canadians wil be called upon to cast their vote on October 14th 2008. As usual, our elections will be called, campaigned, held and over with before the Americans get to do the same. Not that one system is much better than the other.

EDIT: Sorry for pluralising "Canadian" in the title. I guess I was in too much of a hurry.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/story/4221674p-4838418c.html

Harper to launch campaign Sunday

OTTAWA - Prime Minister Stephen Harper is going to pull the plug on his minority government on Sunday. Canadians will go to the polls on Tuesday Oct. 14, the day after Thanksgiving.

At 944 days, Harper will have reigned over the second longest minority government in history. He is set to ask Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean to dissolve Parliament around 9 a.m. eastern time Sunday at Rideau Hall in Ottawa.

He calls the election with economic fears rising, ethical questions of his government mounting, and polls showing the Tories would certainly win at least another minority if an election is held right now.

“He’s no fool. He’s calling it now because he thinks he can win,” said one Tory source.

Others have suggested after spending much of the last two years taunting the Liberals to defeat his government, Harper saw the Liberals looking more and more likely to do so after parliament resumed Sept. 15.

So he decided to call it himself to take control of election timing.

The source added Harper and many Tories think this might be the best opportunity for them to grab a majority government.

Currently most polls suggest the Tories hold a small lead over the Liberals and are way out in front in the west. But in the battleground of Ontario, the Liberals have a significant lead, and the Tories also have ground to make up in Quebec.

Much of this election will be fought in the Toronto region, Montreal and Quebec City, where the seats that will make the difference between a minority or majority are located.

The election call will cancel four byelections scheduled for September in Ontario and Quebec. Three were to have been contested Monday, Sept. 8 and the other Sept. 22.

Liberal Leader Stephane Dion called an end to his party’s caucus retreat in Winnipeg early today, sending his MPs home to begin preparing for the campagin. Dion cancelled his closing speech to give his party more time to get things in place for Sunday.

mia.rabson@freepress.mb.ca

Damn! They couldn't have waited for the 25th, my birthday. D:<

It falls the day before the Canadian Thanksgiving holiday.

Oh yeah, forgot to say I'm turning 18 the 25th, that's why I'm a bit mad.

Oh, now I understand. I thought you were being jokingly narcissistic, it turns out you were disappointed in missing your civic duties.

Well, here's hoping that the NDP can make inroads in Quebec, regain their Saskatchewan seats and build on their successes in Ontario and B.C.,

That the Greens can pick up a seat,

That the Bloc falls apart,

That the Liberals... I'm not really sure what I'm hoping for there,

And finally, that the Conservatives don't get in.

NDP ftw.

I was going over the past 3 elections.  In 2000 the NDP had about 1.1m votes.  2004 they had 2.1m and in 2006 they had 2.6.  Hopefully another 500k votes followed with at least 4 seats.  Anything more would be fantastic but I'm being realistic.

Jack Layton is one of the most well spoken politicians I've ever heard and he comes across a lot more honest than Dion or Harper.

Don't hold your breath for the NDP in Quebec. Our biggest left supporters are usually pro-Bloc. The pro-left non-separatist is most likely a liberal voter.

I think maybe the Greens would have as much hope of gaining a seat in Quebec as the NDP. Both parties are essentially starting from 0 in Quebec. I hope they can get a seat.

I'm very interested to see what kind of a foothold the Bloc still has. We as Quebeckers have been put in a very good situation with the Conservative federal and Liberal Provincial government, so I don't really see what their fighting ground will be.

I'm a fiscal-conservative-social-libertarian-environmentalist, so I'm hoping that the Conservative party's platform is sufficiently green.

No disrespect is implied by using left or right.

wow, I completly disagree with you, especially about the Bloc, Quebec needs its own voice, its a different people from the rest of Canada, with a different heritage. But Im getting this thread off track.

Conservatives ftw, is it too late to register to vote?

The NDP has been slowly working their way up the ladder in Quebec for some time. you can see their successes in the last 3 elections according to Elections Canada.

2000 - 63, 611 votes

2004 - 158, 427 votes

2006 - 276, 401 votes

And since then the NDP has won what I think is only their second ever seat in Quebec, with Mulcair being a major coup. The former provincial Liberal environmental minister who left his party over their decision to privatize a provincial park brought a lot of attention to the party, and has since been crucial in recruiting higher profile candidates than the party normally sees. 

It really isn't a stretch to see the NDP pick up a few seats in Quebec.