Mounties raid Conservatives' HQ

OTTAWA, April 16 (UPI) -- Royal Canadian Mounted Police armed with a search warrant raided the Conservative party headquarters in Ottawa in an investigation into 2006 election spending.

The raid Tuesday was sanctioned by the non-partisan Commissioner of Elections, William Corbett, who declined to speak to reporters, the Canwest News Service reported.

However, in Parliament, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said the investigation was related to a dispute over 2006 spending limits.

There is already a lawsuit in the court filed last year by the Conservative party against Elections Canada to resolve a separate dispute over election advertising expenses, the report said.

During the RCMP raid, Liberal political operatives videotaped the officers and the footage will be used in their next campaign ads, Canwest said.

Various national media said the raid on a national political party's headquarters was the first of its kind in modern history.

It increased the odds Harper's minority government could face a non-confidence vote in the near future, triggering June elections, the report said.