Canadians to Go to Polls on May 2
Mar 26th 2011 – 10:36AM
CBC News
Canada's 41st federal election campaign kicked off Saturday morning after Prime Minister Stephen Harper met with the Governor General to dissolve Parliament and send Canadians to the polls on May 2.Emerging from his meeting with Gov. Gen. David Johnston at Rideau Hall, Harper said Canadians will make a choice next month between a "stable, national majority government" or a "reckless coalition" led by Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff.
Ahead of Harper's appearance, Ignatieff released a statement insisting he won't try to form a coalition with any other party. But the Liberal leader defended coalitions as a "legitimate constitutional option" in Canada's parliamentary system.
Citing economic challenges still facing the world, as well as conflicts in places such as Libya, Harper hit out at opposition parties for forcing an election that the country doesn't want and the economy doesn't need.
Despite Ignatieff's statement, the Conservative leader was adamant his Liberal rival would try to form a coalition government with the other parties, including the Bloc Québécois.
"That is a risk that our country cannot afford," he said.
Where the Conservative leader goes after 1 Sussex Dr. is a tightly held secret. The Conservative Party won't disclose where Harper and his campaign will spend the first few days of the election.
Meanwhile, Ignatieff and NDP Leader Jack Layton have both planned rallies in downtown Ottawa before leaving town. Ignatieff will travel to Montreal, where Bloc Québécois Leader Gilles Duceppe is spending Saturday. Layton is flying to Edmonton Saturday afternoon.
Campaign 'a moment of contrast': Ignatieff
It's starting to become clear just what script each party will follow. The Conservatives are hitting hard on the election being unnecessary and irresponsible, and can build a campaign around the hold-steady style of budget they presented earlier this week. They are painting the opposition parties as a threat to the economy and arguing a coalition is inevitable if voters don't choose the Conservatives.
The opposition parties say the issue is one of ethics and respect for democracy, which they say are lacking in the Conservative Party.
Speaking on Saturday outside Parliament, Ignatieff called the coming campaign "a moment of contrast" between the Harper government, which he said has shown "contempt for the fundamentals of democracy," and the Liberal alternative.
"We will be offering Canadians a government of the people, a government devoted to the people," he said, flanked by a group of Liberal MPs.
The Liberals are expected to focus on recent scandals hitting the Conservatives, including charges of electoral fraud for two senators, allegations staff interfered with access to information requests and an accusation a former senior advisor to the prime minister tried to use his influence to promote his girlfriend's business.
The NDP, meanwhile, say they're the real alternative to the Conservatives because in many ridings their candidates run second to the Tories who won seats.
The Bloc say they're the only party who can defend Quebec's interests.
Non-confidence
The opposition Liberals, NDP and Bloc Québécois came together Friday afternoon in a historic vote to say they no longer have confidence in the Conservative government.
The motion says the House agrees with a committee report tabled earlier this week that found the government in contempt of Parliament, "which is unprecedented in Canadian parliamentary history, and consequently the House has lost confidence in the Government."
Earlier this week, the procedure and House affairs committee tabled a report that said the government is in contempt of parliament for refusing to supply enough information on the cost of the F-35 fighter jets, their justice system reforms and their projections for corporate profits and tax rates.
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