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Canada's prime minister calls early election
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-09-08 10:54 An Environics Research survey said 38 percent of Canadians would vote for the Conservatives and 28 percent for the Liberals. Some 19 percent backed the New Democrats, 8 percent the Bloc Quebecois and 7 percent the Green party. A total of 2,505 people were surveyed by telephone from August 29 to September 4. The poll had a margin of error of 2 percentage points. Separatist Bloc Quebecois leader Gilles Duceppe compared Harper to the unpopular President George W. Bush, and noted that Harper needs to pick up seats in the French-speaking province of Quebec to gain a majority. "We have to face the reality: There is a real possibility that the Conservatives will win a majority," Duceppe said, "And in Quebec, there is only one party that can stop the Conservatives and prevent Stephen Harper from attaining his hoped-for majority, and it's the Bloc Quebecois." Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said Saturday that if the Conservatives win the next election, the government will lower personal taxes to make them more competitive with rates in the US over the next few years. Since becoming prime minister, Harper has extended Canada's military mission in Afghanistan. Canada has lost 97 soldiers and as the death toll approaches 100 the mission could become an issue in the campaign. The military announced the latest death on Sunday. Harper also pulled Canada out of the Kyoto Protocol, which commits industrialized nations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Dion, a former environment minister who named his dog Kyoto, wants to increase taxes on greenhouse gas emitters. Dion has moved his party to the crowded left in Canada by staking his leadership on a "Green Shift" tax plan. The Conservatives have been targeting Dion's plan in television and radio ads, saying it would kill jobs and 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. Dion has not had much success selling the plan to Canadians, many of whom have viewed him as a weak leader ever since he surprisingly won leadership of the party in late 2006. |
