Canadian Parties Begin Candidate Search Ahead Of Vote

Plummeting support for the Liberals over an escalating corruption scandal has raised the likelihood that opposition parties will force a vote that would topple Prime Minister Paul Martin's 10-month old government. An advertising executive last week testified he paid C$1.2 million ($970,000) in kickbacks to Liberal fundraisers for government contracts. Since those allegations were made public, Liberal support has fallen seven percentage points among decided voters to 27 percent, according to an Ipsos-Reid poll published by the Globe and Mail on April 12. Support for the Conservative Party was unchanged at 30 percent, according to the poll, which has a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points. The Conservatives, with 99 seats in the 308-member House of Commons, can bring down the government with the support of the separatist Bloc Quebecois party from Quebec. The Liberals are the largest party, with 133 seats. The Bloc's national executive will meet on Monday to discuss election plans such as candidate selection, party communications director Guylaine Grenier said in an interview. continued here: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000082&sid=amBCJOMu0Te4