Prime Minister Stephen Harper's decision to suspend Parliament until March is his way of challenging the Liberals to force an early election if they don't like the way he conducts government business, a Harris-Decima pollster said Thursday.

Bruce Anderson agrees with the prime minister that the move, approved Wednesday, will give Harper time to focus on implementing the government's economic plan. But the pollster says that's not its sole purpose.

"I think he wanted to send a clear message to the Liberals and to the other opposition parties that he really does intend to act as though he has a majority," Anderson told CBC News.

"He's really kind of thrown down the gauntlet to the Liberals, saying, 'If it's true that I prorogued last year because I was a bit afraid of the growing power of the opposition parties, this year I am doing it because of the exact opposite, fundamentally. I'm not afraid of them ... and if you don't like what I am doing, I challenge you to call an election.'"

Anderson said the suspension will also help the minority Conservative government "escape the never-ending difficult discussion about the Afghan detainee issue and to create a situation where he could take some time and hit the reset button" in terms of economic policy.

Critics have accused Harper of extending the parliamentary break to silence inquiries into the possible torture of detainees after they left Canadian custody in Afghanistan.

The House of Commons was scheduled to return on Jan. 25, but now a speech from the throne won't be read until March 3, to be followed by a new federal budget on March 4.

Anderson said the parliamentary break provides a "very important window" for Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff.

"He needs to do a lot better personally in terms of connecting with people. And most importantly, I think the Liberal Party needs to have a clear distinct, alternate voice on economic policy if it's going to get competitive any time soon," the pollster said.

In the last year, Anderson said, the Liberals have failed to capitalize in any meaningful way on the economic difficulties, so "their work's cut out for them."

Last December, Gov. Gen. Michaëlle Jean granted a request from Harper to prorogue Parliament until late the following month, a move that avoided a threatened no-confidence vote.