OTTAWA, June 28 (UPI) -- Polls opened Monday in Canada's hotly contested national election that had the Conservative party running neck and neck with the ruling Liberals.
Ending six weeks of intensive campaigning, Prime Minister Paul Martin returned to Ottawa late Sunday after crossing the entire country in one day. His leading opponent, Conservative leader Steven Harper remained in his adopted home city of Calgary, Alberta.
The National Post said recent polls put the Liberals in a dead heat with the Conservatives, although the final seat projections from Barry Kay, a political scientist at Wilfrid Laurier University, suggest the Conservatives would win the most seats at 115, compared to 108 for the Liberals, 59 for the separatist Bloc Quebecois and 26 for the socialist New Democratic Party.
Canada has 308 electoral districts, and a majority requires 155 seats. The closeness of the race indicates the possibility of a minority government and some politically unusual alliances with the two smaller parties.
Leading up to the 38th national election, Liberals held 168 seats to the Conservatives' 73. The Bloc Quebecois had 33 seats, and the New Democrats 14.
