A federal election campaign will kick off Sunday morning with Prime Minister Stephen Harper expected to visit the Governor General, reported The Canadian Press on Thursday.
Sources told CP that the prime minister is expected to ask Gov.-Gen. Michaelle Jean at 9 a.m. ET to dissolve Canada's 39th Parliament, which would send Canadians to the polls on Tuesday, Oct. 14. Harper is expected to repeat an argument he has been airing recently -- that he has lost the confidence of Parliament.
Meanwhile, Liberal Leader Stephane Dion cancelled a speech he had been scheduled to give in Winnipeg on Thursday morning and started his election rhetoric as his MPs headed to their ridings.
"We are a strong team and we are ready to work hard for Canadians at a time when Prime Minister Stephen Harper is determined to break his word and force an early election," said Dion. "We Liberals are prepared to defeat the Conservatives because we know that Canadians are tired of this government and want change."
The Tories were elected Jan. 23, 2006, and enter the upcoming campaign after running the third-longest parliamentary minority in federal history, including the longest since the 1920s.
CP reports Harper was meeting with his cabinet Thursday for a pre-election meeting in Meech Lake, Que.
Tories losing veteran MPs
CTV's parliamentary correspondent Graham Richardson reported Thursday that Monte Solberg, a 15-year MP and current minister of Human Resources and Social Development will not seek re-election.
Additionally, the Conservatives officially announced that Foreign Affairs Minister David Emerson and Fisheries Minister Loyala Hearn will also not be running in the election.
Emerson and Hearn, who both faced tough re-election fights, had not been expected to run again but Solberg's departure was a surprise.
On CTV's Mike Duffy Live, Solberg said it was the right time for him to call it a political career.
"I never meant to be a career politician," he said.
The three departures mean that the Conservatives are losing some of their most experienced, and acclaimed, cabinet ministers.
"Someone like David Emerson, someone with experience like Monte Solberg, losing those two people is difficult, even for a governing party," Richardson said.
Losing Emerson, who crossed the floor from the Liberals to join the Conservatives cabinet in 2006, will be a particularly significant loss for the Tories, Richardson said.
Emerson has, by all accounts, performed admirably in the high-profile Foreign Affairs portfolio, after taking the position from the beleaguered Maxine Bernier.
Prior to that post he was the Industry minister, and played a key role negotiating an end to the softwood lumber dispute.
Solberg said despite the resignations the Conservative Party is in good shape for an election.
"I'm a bit biased, but I think we have a great record to run on for an election," he said.
Targeting Harper
CTV parliamentary correspondent Roger Smith, at the Liberal caucus meeting in Winnipeg, said Liberal pollster Michael Marzolini told the party on Wednesday that the campaign must target Harper.
The prime minister is "vulnerable on questions of trust and likeability, especially among women," Smith told Newsnet.
On Wednesday, Dion attacked Harper as the most right-wing prime minister this country has ever seen.
Dion also announced changes to his centrepiece Green Shift plan that would see subsidies for farmers, fishers, forestry workers and truckers to help them cut down on carbon fuel consumption. Truckers had protested outside the meeting on Tuesday.
The Green Shift, while complicated, boils down to shift the tax burden onto most carbon-based fuels while simultaneously cutting income taxes as a way to encourage a reduction in the greenhouse gas emissions that are driving climate change.
The Conservatives have vigorously attacked the plan as a tax grab that would damage the economy.
Smith said the Liberals had planned to space out the announcement of its Green Shift changes over the fall, but then decided to announce it all in advance of the expected campaign.
Canadians being 'nickel and dimed': NDP
NDP Leader Jack Layton focused on the economy at a rally in Toronto on Thursday. He said ordinary Canadians are being "nickel and dimed" by government and businesses.
"There is a widening gap between the rich, those who are doing very well and those who are really struggling," he said.
Layton told a cheering crowd that some people are working two or three jobs and still not making ends meet.
"Why we have food banks and homelessness in a country as affluent and strong as ours is something that just makes you shake your head," Layton said.
"It's time we close the gap (between rich and poor) with policies that are fair to every Canadian."
