With reports today that Conservatives have told political operatives to get the campaign "war rooms" ready, all parties are getting ready to blame each other for the possiblity of triggering a fall election.
The Liberals say the Tories are trying to confuse Canadians about which party wants to trigger a federal election.
Liberal MP Ruby Dhalla told CTV's Mike Duffy Live Friday that "On one hand (the Conservatives) continue to say that we don't want to go into an election campaign. On the other hand they are doing everything to ensure they are ready, and I think that they should really start looking at the needs of Canadians."
Dhalla added that she doesn't believe Canadians want to go the polls any time soon.
"I've spoken to many Canadians on the ground and I don't think anyone at this point wants an election except for Stephen Harper and the Conservatives," she said.
Dhalla's comments came after a Tory strategist told Â鶹´«Ã½net that the Conservative government doesn't want an election but is trying to be prudent in preparing for one.
Geoff Norquay told Â鶹´«Ã½net on Friday that the opposition parties have been drawing lines in the sand about supporting the government's throne speech, scheduled to be delivered on Oct. 16.
"If we have one, it's really up to the opposition parties," he said.
The Globe and Mail reported that federal Tory organizers have been told to have their election campaign offices ready to go on Oct. 20. Meanwhile, candidates have been told to immediately start canvassing constituents.
Campaign chairman Doug Finley gave the directives during a conference call with candidates Thursday, it said.
Finley also reportedly said that there would be four or five items in the throne speech that the opposition parties would find absolutely unacceptable.
New Democrat MP Paul Dewar told Mike Duffy Live that his party will listen to the throne speech before making any decisions about whether the party will support it. He said the NDP wants to focus on Canada's mission in Afghanistan, the prosperity gap, and the environment.
"People know where we're at," Dewar said. "The question is: what are the other parties going to do?"
Sources confirmed that campaign workers have been told to be in place at the Ottawa war room on Oct. 18 -- the day the first throne speech vote could take place. Throne speech votes are confidence votes, so if the opposition parties vote down the speech, an election could be triggered.
Organizers also told the newspaper that Finley said three different election dates are currently being debated.
Two separate campaign lengths are being discussed, one of five weeks and another of six. A shorter campaign period is preferable to allow less time for errors, at least one senior official told The Globe.
"As far as Mr. Finley's comments, I think he was simply being prudent," Norquay said. "We'd look pretty stupid if there were an election and we weren't ready. So we'll be ready."
Harper: 'No intention'
Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Wednesday he has no intention of calling a fall election, but will not bow to pressure from opposition parties who have demanded changes to the government's agenda.
"The choice is not an election or obstruction, the choice is an election or give the government the mandate to govern," Harper said in his first news conference at the National Press Theatre in Ottawa since taking office.
Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe has outlined five "non-negotiable" conditions he wants the government to meet in its Oct. 16 throne speech, including an end to Canada's combat mission in Afghanistan by February 2009.
Liberal Leader Stephane Dion has also made demands, including clarification over the Afghanistan mission and the support of Bill C-30 on climate change.
"Obviously, if we don't get approval, the opposition will force an election. That's not my preferred course of action, but if they force that, we'll be ready for it," Harper said Wednesday.
Harper said if the opposition supports the throne speech it must also back subsequent legislation that flows from it -- which suggests Ottawa could designate a series of bills as confidence matters.
One Conservative insider said those bills would come quickly after the House reopens. The Globe reports they will include a fall economic update and legislation designed to toughen criminal-justice laws.
Harper said he believes that an election would likely result in another minority government. With four political parties securing a minimum of 20 seats each, it would be difficult for any side to win a majority of votes, he added.
A Harris-Decima Research poll for The Canadian Press released Wednesday gave the Tories 33 per cent support and the Liberals 31 per cent. That puts them in a statistical tie, given the margin of error of 3.1 percentage points. The NDP is at 16 per cent support, and the Green party at 10 per cent.
