Federal parties' election strategies already clear
Last Updated: Saturday, September 6, 2008 | 11:27 AM ET
CBC News
With Prime Minister Stephen Harper expected to ask the Governor General to call an election on Sunday, Canada's federal political parties have already outlined their strategies.
Harper has been steadily attacking the Liberals' Green Shift plan, a proposal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by imposing a carbon tax and cutting other taxes.
Given the economic circumstances, "it's a crazy time for the country to take risks," he said.
Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion is playing the card the party has used before, that the Conservatives have a hidden agenda. Harper "wants Canada to be a very right-wing country," Dion said.
With Liberal deputy leader Michael Ignatieff (left) and caucus chair Anthony Rota, Leader Stéphane Dion celebrates with party members after a speech to his caucus in Winnipeg on Sept. 3.
(John Woods/Canadian Press) Bloc Québécois Leader Gilles Duceppe said his party is the only thing that stands between the Conservatives and a majority government.
Like Dion, he also said that Harper wants to take the country to the right, citing comments Harper made before he was Prime Minister describing the Kyoto environmental accord as a socialist plot and saying Canada should have joined the U.S. in the Iraq war.
NDP Leader Jack Layton will present himself as prime ministerial material and the party as the alternative to the Tories. Unlike the last election, Layton is expected to ignore the Liberals, the CBC's Keith Boag reported.
Harper is expected to ask Gov. Gen. Michaëlle Jean to dissolve the current minority government. Harper confirmed Friday that he will meet Jean shortly after 8 a.m. on Sunday.
The election is expected to take place on Oct. 14.
