Canada may face fall elections

OTTAWA, Sept. 14 (UPI) -- The Canadian Parliament returned to session in Ottawa Monday and Prime Minister Stephen Harper tabled a lightning rod issue, a government spokesman said.

The vote on the ways-and-means motion that includes a popular tax credit provision for home renovation is scheduled for Friday. It is considered a confidence vote for the Harper government, CanWest News Service reported.

The motion's defeat could trigger an election, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported, with campaigning starting as early as this weekend.

The Liberal party will vote against the government at the first opportunity, its leader, Michael Ignatieff, said. The Bloc Quebecois has not announced which way its members will vote. The New Democratic Party may join with Harper's Conservatives if the government's proposal to extend employment insurance for long-tenured workers is enacted, its leader, Jack Layton, said.

Harper, in the past, has called the NDP socialists.