Post by Shadow on Jan 23, 2006 18:59:12 GMT -5
Reuters
By Randall Palmer
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) - After more than a decade of Liberal rule, Canadians appeared prepared to hand a limited mandate to the Conservatives in Monday's election.
The election is a rematch of the 2004 neck-and-neck race with the Conservatives that gave Liberal Prime Minister Paul Martin a minority government.
But this time, Conservative leader Stephen Harper, whose party is rooted in Western Canada, has a substantial lead of six to 12 percentage points in opinion polls, keeping the Conservatives on track for their first government in 12 years.
Still, Martin, whose government was toppled in November after a damaging kickback scandal, was confident of victory.
"It's certainly a close one, but I've got to say I feel pretty good," he told Vancouver radio station CKNW in an interview on Monday.
The weather across most of the country was unusually mild and officials in Eastern Canada, where the polls first opened, said the turnout has been brisk.
Just 61 percent of voters, a record low, took part in the last election.
By Randall Palmer
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) - After more than a decade of Liberal rule, Canadians appeared prepared to hand a limited mandate to the Conservatives in Monday's election.
The election is a rematch of the 2004 neck-and-neck race with the Conservatives that gave Liberal Prime Minister Paul Martin a minority government.
But this time, Conservative leader Stephen Harper, whose party is rooted in Western Canada, has a substantial lead of six to 12 percentage points in opinion polls, keeping the Conservatives on track for their first government in 12 years.
Still, Martin, whose government was toppled in November after a damaging kickback scandal, was confident of victory.
"It's certainly a close one, but I've got to say I feel pretty good," he told Vancouver radio station CKNW in an interview on Monday.
The weather across most of the country was unusually mild and officials in Eastern Canada, where the polls first opened, said the turnout has been brisk.
Just 61 percent of voters, a record low, took part in the last election.