Afghanistan, economy, environment top Canada election agenda

The role of Canada's military in Afghanistan, the global economy and climate change are expected to top the agenda in upcoming snap elections called on Sunday by Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Harper called the October 14 vote after nearly two-and-half years of struggling to govern with a minority government.

The Conservative leader, who is hoping his party can get closer to an absolute majority in the 308-seat legislature, told reporters the election would lay out for voters the stark contrast between right and left economic and environmental policies.

"We have come to a moment that requires the people of Canada to choose a way forward," Harper said after asking Governor General Michaelle Jean, Canada's titular head, to dissolve parliament.

"Between now and October 14th, Canadians will choose a government to look out for their interest in a time of global economic trouble," Harper said.

"They will choose between clear direction or uncertainty, between common sense or risky experiments, between steadiness or recklessness."

The leader of the Liberal Party, Stephane Dion, meanwhile said the election was pivotal because "there has never been a federal election that has more clearly provided to Canadians such a stark choice between two visions for our country."

Dion called Harper's government "the most conservative government in our history" and pledged to reduce poverty in Canada by one-third overall and one-half among children.

Harper's announcement came with Canada's military involvement in Afghanistan expected to figure prominently during the campaigning, as Ottawa announced the combat death Sunday of another Canadian soldier -- the fourth this week. It was the 97th Canadian soldier killed in Afghanistan since 2003.

There are some 2,500 Canadian soldiers currently in Afghanistan. Ottawa's mission was extended to 2011 by the Conservatives with qualified support from the Liberals, but recent opinion polls suggest a slight majority of Canadians oppose Canada's role in the mission.

The Bloc Quebecois and the New Democrats meanwhile have been consistently opposed it.

Harper said the Conservatives would run on a record that includes lowering taxes, changing rules to prevent funding of political campaigns by large corporations and unions, lengthening mandatory criminal sentences and allocating money for family child care.

The sagging economy is also expected to be a major campaign theme, despite a historically-low unemployment rate of 6.1 percent, amid fears of a recession.

Before dissolution the Conservatives held 127 seats, the Liberals 95, the Bloc Quebecois 48, and the New Democratic Party 30. Four seats were vacant while Independents held another four seats, including the seat of one member of Parliament who announced this week he would join the relatively new Green Party.

Opinion polls in the past year have suggested only a slight difference between support for the Liberals and Conservatives.

Recent surveys showed a strengthening of support for the Conservatives, and some pundits suggest the party could win a majority. But Harper downplayed that possibility Sunday, telling reporters, "in all likelihood it will be a minority."

He launched his campaign in the Francophone province of Quebec, where for the first time polls put the Conservatives neck-and-neck with the separatist Bloc Quebecois.

Gilles Duceppe, leader of the Bloc Quebecois, compared Harper and the Conservatives to the administration of US President George W. Bush.

"Let us never forget, never, that Stephen Harper wanted to take Canada into the Iraq war in 2003," said Duceppe, adding the main election choice is between his vision and "a society where the rich grow richer and the poor grow poorer."

Jack Layton, leader of the New Democrats, suggested the governments of the past quarter-century run by either Conservatives or Liberals were more alike than not.

Meanwhile, Green Party leader Elizabeth May, whose party is hoping to capture its first elected seat, urged Canadians not to be cynical about politics and to get involved, and demand better environmental stewardship.

"Our species stands on a precipice," she said. "It's a moment of great peril ... and right now many Canadians are tuned out. There is no other planet which we can move to."