BBC NEWS | Americas | Canadian election gamble

BBC NEWS | Americas | Canadian election gamble: "Last Updated: Tuesday, 29 November 2005, 10:38 GMT


Canadian election gamble
By Lee Carter
BBC News, Toronto



Stephen Harper's image is improving among Canadians
Canada's opposition parties are taking a gamble by forcing an election in the middle of winter when much of the country is blanketed in snow and temperatures of -20C are not uncommon.
The election, set for 23 January, will be dominated by the same issue as the last election just 17 months ago - a corruption scandal that has dogged the Liberal party.
Prime Minister Paul Martin's minority Liberal government had failed to shake off the scandal, which dates from a previous administration.
In the late 1990s, at least C$100m ($81m; �43m) of government money that should have been spent on promoting national unity in the primarily French-speaking province of Quebec was instead diverted to the coffers of Liberal-friendly advertising agencies. "