Olympic mascot (Guang Niu/Getty)

It will be a leap year with 366 days, the extra one, of course, in February, which has a rare five Fridays. It will also be the first year in which just over 52 per cent of Canadians will enjoy a statutory holiday in that dark month now that Ontario has joined Alberta and Saskatchewan in legislating a legal Family Day for the third Monday in February.

But not just the calendar is shifting in 2008. The new year promises to be a decisive one that could usher in political change at the highest of levels: The U.S., Russia, possibly Britain and perhaps even Canada are all bracing for national elections with the potential to set new directions.

George W. Bush at the White House in July 2007 (Ron Edmonds/Associated Press)

Indeed, the magnitude of some of the events in the months ahead — consider superpower America after eight years of George W. Bush — is bound to have an impact well beyond the year itself.

Of the big world events on tap for 2008, the U.S. presidential election in November has to be at the top of the list. Jostling for pageantry, however, will be China's hosting of the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, beginning Aug. 8.

With thousands of professional athletes and millions of people from around the world expected at the games, the international spotlight will shine on China as never before. Is it up to the scrutiny? A telling moment will be in March when organizers are set to complete a new Olympic stadium in the shape of a bird's nest.

Also in March, Russia is slated to elect a new president, although how that will loosen the hold of outgoing president Vladimir Putin is unclear. He is stepping aside after his constitutionally-mandated two terms in favour of a chosen successor, Dmitry Medvedev. But Putin is also now planning to stay on as prime minister, a move that may well transform the power base in that country.

Canada may also be going to the polls in March. The federal Liberal party has been making noises about no longer supporting the minority Conservatives and may well pull the plug on Stephen Harper's government before a federal budget expected in the early spring.

A national election could also be called in Britain, though the Economist magazine predicts Prime Minister Gordon Brown will hold off, while BBC says maybe in 2009. Brown told the BBC in October 2007, when election rumours were rife, that he wants "to get on with the business of change" before calling a vote.

From Super Tuesday to the Mideast

The year 2008 will not be a record year for elections, but any year with a U.S. presidential campaign cannot be ignored. Indeed, the official starting gun goes off in January when U.S. primaries, or other statewide votes, will be held in Iowa, New Hampshire, Michigan, South Carolina and Florida. In early February, 22 states will hold primaries on what is being called Super-Duper Tuesday. The main party contenders for the White House should be obvious by then, but some years these things go down to the wire.

The Democratic convention will be held in August in Colorado, while the Republican convention will be held in September in Minneapolis. Both will be followed by television debates between the two main parties' presidential and, usually, vice-presidential champions.

2008 may also be a year in which change comes to the Middle East. Peace talks formally began in December after Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Leader Mahmoud Abbas agreed at a U.S.-sponsored conference in Annapolis, Md. to begin negotiations on the idea of a Palestinian state. Both sides have pledged to try to reach an agreement by the end of 2008. Negotiators are to meet biweekly.

Although the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will no doubt continue through 2008, the White House is expected to lower troops levels in Iraq by the end of the summer. A report in the Washington Post says President Bush is coming under pressure from the U.S. military to shift troops from Iraq to Afghanistan. Violence is said to be dropping in Iraq but rising in Afghanistan.

Canada's troops, stationed in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar, have another full year of fighting the Taliban as they are not scheduled to come home before February 2009.

Africa

In western Sudan, one of the largest UN peacekeeping forces ever to be deployed is expected early in the new year in the troubled region of Darfur. It will be a hybrid force consisting of UN and African Union troops.

Collecting water at a Darfur camp (Ben Curtis/Associated Press)

The conflict there has killed more than 200,000 people and displaced more than two million since fighting began between rebels and government forces allied with local militia in 2003. The past year in Darfur has been marred by the hijacking of relief trucks and attacks on aid workers.

Another African country that could receive more international attention in 2008 is Somalia, which Time magazine has dubbed "the other Darfur." The UN estimates that about 600,000 people, or more than half of the residents of the capital, Mogadishu, have fled the city because of violence. Many are living in makeshift quarters on its outskirts.

You can expect to hear more about East Africa in 2008. John Holmes, UN under-secretary general for humanitarian affairs, warned in early December that conditions in Darfur, Somalia and southeastern Ethiopia could become substantially worse in the new year. The UN fears that up to 4.5 million people could face famine in Ethiopia's Somali region in part because of a poor rainy season and fighting between rebels and government forces.

Climate change

Climate change, of course, will continue to dominate the world agenda.

Marathon talks at the UN Climate Change conference in Bali, Indonesia in December resulted in an agreement, known as the Bali roadmap, in which 187 countries agreed to negotiate a new international climate change treaty by 2009, one that will replace the existing Kyoto Protocol when it expires in 2012.

In Canada, climate change could be a pivotal election issue. The environment is currently Canadian's most important concern, outpacing even health issues, according to a recent Ipsos Reid poll.

In October 2007, federal Liberal leader Stéphane Dion ordered the Liberals to abstain on confidence votes to ensure the minority Conservative government continued to govern, but he has said that in the new year that Liberal MPs will consider each confidence vote on its own merit.

As Dion told the Canadian Press in December: "2008 will be another ball game. You cannot keep alive forever a government who wants to die."

Climate change is considered a key issue for the Liberals. Dion has a dog named Kyoto and, in December 2007, he visited all three territories to spread the message that Ottawa is responsible for helping the North adapt to climate change. Then he went to the UN climate change conference in Bali where he met former U.S. vice-president Al Gore, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in helping bring attention to the problem of global warming.

Other fireworks

Irrespective of an election call, 2008 promises to be a robust political year on a variety of fronts.

In January, University of Waterloo president David Johnston is to make his recommendations for a public inquiry into the controversial financial dealings between German-Canadian lobbyist Karlheinz Schreiber and former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. Both Schreiber and Mulroney have appeared before the Commons ethics committee and are slated to return. Some MPs on the committee say a full public inquiry is no longer necessary. But Prime Minister Harper has promised one and may not want to back down.

Another important report to be delivered at the end of January will be from the panel that is looking into whether or not to maintain Canada's military presence in Afghanistan, beyond the February 2009 scheduled pullout. The panel, headed by former Liberal cabinet minister John Manley, visited Afghanistan to see the situation first hand and has heard submissions.

An election is likely in the oil-rich province of Alberta, where the premier, Ed Stelmach, has been in office for a year now without seeking his own mandate. The issues will likely include the province's rapid growth, which has led to pressures on housing, infrastructure and the environment, and its proposed new royalty regime for oil and gas.

In Quebec, there will be celebrations in July to mark the 400th anniversary of the founding of Quebec City. This is an important event on the Quebec calendar. Almost as important will be the report of the Bouchard-Taylor commission on "reasonable accommodation" regarding the religious and cultural integration of minorities in the province. The report is due in the spring.

The economy

One unsettling event that could occur in 2008 is a U.S. recession. Many — but certainly not all — economists feel some kind of correction is in the offing. There is no consensus either on whether the effects would spill over into Canada, despite the strong loonie. The American economy is beset by a lending crisis that is starting to take its toll on big institutions and the housing market.

Rounding out the year are the UN international years for 2008. It's the International Year of the Potato, of sanitation, of languages, and of planet Earth. The potato year, designed to raise awareness of the lowly tuber, already has its own website complete with glowing images of spuds.

It's also the Chinese calendar's Year of the Rat, officially starting on Lunar New Year in early February. According to astrological descriptions, it means a year of hard work, enterprise, renewal and activity as rats are seen as clever, resourceful and quick-witted creatures.