CANADA: Canada's minority Liberal Party government has lost a vote of confidence, ending the rule of Prime Minister Paul Martin, whose tenure was largely overshadowed by a patronage scandal.
The no-confidence motion was passed by a vote of 171 to 133 on Monday evening, eliciting loud cheers from opposition legislators.
Mr Martin was due last night to visit Governor General Michaelle Jean, Canada's ceremonial head of state, to ask her to dissolve parliament and set an election date. He is widely expected to call for a vote on January 23rd, setting the scene for the country's first winter campaign in more than two decades.
Recent opinion polls show the most likely result of the elections will be another minority Liberal government, which would again be forced to rely on support from other parties to stay in power.
Mr Martin, a former popular finance minister, took over as prime minister in December 2003 with hopes of spending a decade in power. But he ran into trouble in February 2004 when it was revealed that $85 million (€62 million) in government advertising and sponsorship contracts had been funnelled to Liberal-friendly firms for little or no work. He lost his parliamentary majority in the June 2004 elections as voter anger was widespread.
The opposition said the scandal was the main reason it pressed for quick elections. "This is not just the end of a tired, directionless, scandal-clad government. It's the start of a bright new future for our country," said Conservative Party leader Stephen Harper.
Mr Martin told supporters he would run on the government's economic record. "We will be entering this campaign on a balance sheet we can be proud of."
The Liberals came to power inheriting a $36 billion budget deficit from the outgoing Conservative government. The budget deficit is now gone, the economy is booming and unemployment is at a 30-year low.
A Pollara opinion poll released on Monday showed public support for the Liberals at 36 per cent, compared with 31 per cent for the Conservatives. - (Reuters)