Canada

With all the attention devoted to the US elections, you may not have heard that our neighbors up north are having their own elections today. Here's a brief summary of the political scene in Canada.

Tuesday is election day in Canada. Prime Minister Stephen Harper (Conservative) called the snap election -- just before the global economic collapse -- in a strategic move to strengthen his minority government. Instead, polls in the closing days show the Tories have slipped and are likely to have a net loss in seats. Harper's main rival for PM is centrist Liberal Party leader Stephane Dion. Although the intellectual former Cabinet member Dion was initially seen as politically weak and a poor communicator in English, he has gained substantial ground in recent polls. Jack Layton -- leader of the democratic-socialist New Democrats -- looks likely to score the NDP's best finish ever. The regional Bloc Québécois may lose a few seats overall, and the Greens may capture their first seat in the federal parliament. If the Liberals and NDP can reach consensus after Tuesday, they will have the power to form a center-left coalition government and oust Harper. It remains to be seen, however, if any deal can be reached. If the two parties remain fractured, however, Harper may be able to hold onto a precarious and diminished minority government.