OTTAWA, April 30 (UPI) -- Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Saturday the Conservative Party plans to win the coming election.
Harper, who has governed without a parliamentary majority since 2006, refused to say whether he would accept a decision by Governor General David Johnston to ask New Democratic Leader Jack Layton to try to form a government with the Liberal Party and Bloc Quebecois, the Toronto Star reported.
"I'm not going to speculate on hypotheticals. We're in this to win," Harper said.
The conservatives won 127 seats in 2006. In 2008, they increased their parliamentary bloc to 143, still short of a majority in the 308-seat House of Commons.
Harper and Michael Ignatieff, leader of the Liberals, spent Saturday campaigning in Ontario, Canada's most populous province. Layton was in British Columbia.
Saturday was Harper's 52nd birthday. Supporters provided a birthday cake and sang "Happy Birthday" to the prime minister.
In the last days before Monday's election, Harper has focused his fire on the New Democrats, telling voters the choice is between that party and the Conservatives, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported. Ignatieff, saying he had been subjected to repeated attacks, blamed Harper Friday for the increase in NDP support shown by late polls.
"The consequence was, Jack Layton comes up the middle with a big, wide grin," Ignatieff said.
