Canada PM dissolves parliament, calls general election

LONDON (ShareCast) - (ShareCast News) - Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has called for a general election will be held on 19 October. The announcement, made late on Sunday, came after Harper dissolved the Parliament. The move will lengthen the official campaign season to 11 weeks, more than doubling the traditional Canadian races.

Harper commented that a lengthy campaign was needed so citizens could explore the options and make a "serious choice." His centre-right Conservative Party has been in power since 2006. "Now (NYSE: DNOW - news) is not the time for the kind of risky economic schemes that are doing so much damage elsewhere in the world," Harper said.

A recent poll by Ottawa-based Ekos Research showed that ruling party had 30% of the Canadian's support, behind the opposition NDP, which enjoys 34% support.

The Liberal Party of Canada is in third place with around 20% support.