All indications on Saturday pointed to the Conservatives ousting Liberal Prime Minister Paul Martin in Canada's general election on Jan. 23, Reuters reported. With a little more than a week to go and polls showing the opposition party enjoying a commanding lead, pundits from all sides were turning against Martin and Conservatives candidates -- once reluctant to sound confident for fear of scaring away voters -- were speaking more openly about victory. For the first time since 1988, the influential Globe and Mail newspaper abandoned its support of the Liberals and cautiously endorsed Conservative leader Stephen Harper. "We are on the cusp of reversing 12 years of Liberal rule," Conservative parliamentary candidate Tony Clement said in introducing Harper at a rally in this snow-covered rural area north of Toronto. The Liberals, in power in Ottawa since 1993, have won this district for the last four elections. Harper was then set to go to North Bay, which the Liberals have held for the last 17 years. "Mr. Martin is campaigning in Montreal, which was considered not too long ago the strongest set of Liberal ridings (districts) in the country. That's an encouraging sign," Harper said. "Indications on the ground are good everywhere." Harper briefly led Martin in the 2004 campaign but Martin managed to win a minority government, the fourth consecutive Liberal mandate. This time Harper's lead is much stronger -- up to 11 percentage points -- and it has shown little sign of eroding. Most observers agree that he has run a more disciplined campaign than in 2004 and than the Liberals are doing now. "More than ever, Paul Martin gives the impression of a weak man surrounded by incompetents," columnist Lysiane Gagnon wrote in the prominent Quebec newspaper La Presse. Besides battling the public's desire for change, the Liberals have suffered from scandal and criminal investigations. Martin's government fell on Nov. 28 after a judicial inquiry concluded the Liberals had taken kickbacks from public contracts which were then illegally used to finance elections. The Globe editorial said it was time for a change even though Canada was better off after 12-plus years of Liberal rule. "The government of Canada, long of tooth and short of energy, is mired in policy gridlock. ... Then there is the matter of the culture of entitlement that has taken deep root within the Liberal Party," it said. It found that Harper had learned from mistakes and there was now greater reason to feel comfortable with him. But it added it was hard to endorse him and his party unreservedly. Harper has pledged to clean up government, crack down on crime, give a child-care allowance, cut the federal sales tax and seek to guarantee public health care in a reasonable time. He would also allow a vote on whether to revoke gay marriage, and has pledged to improve ties with Washington. If Harper wins, it still is unclear whether he would take a majority of seats in Parliament. One poll analysis this week pointed to him falling a few seats short of a majority. For all his confidence, he still refuses to speculate about whether he will win a majority or even about possible preparations for a cabinet. "I've not sat down and had a discussion with anybody on that subject," he said. "I haven't even discussed it with my wife yet."
