Canadian Liberals fan fall election talk

OTTAWA, Aug. 25 (UPI) -- Indications are mounting Canada's main opposition party, the Liberals, is posturing to force a fourth national election in five years in the fall.

The Globe and Mail reported Tuesday Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff has already posed for campaign photos at his official Ottawa residence amid conflicting polls over his party's national popularity.

In an interview published Monday in the French-language Le Devoir, Ignatieff said he is "reflecting on when to call an election," the same day two very dissimilar polls were published. One gave Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservative party an 11-point lead over the Liberals while the second showed the country's two oldest parties in a dead heat.

Parliament is scheduled to reconvene in mid-September and Harper's minority government will once again face the threat of a non-confidence vote on any number of issues. Should that happen the country would face a $300 million federal election, likely in mid-November, the National Post said.

Of 308 parliamentary seats, the Conservatives hold 143, the Liberals 77, the separatist Bloc Quebecois have 48, the socialist New Democratic Party 36, there is one independent and three seats are vacant.