Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper has called a parliamentary election for October .. kicking off a marathon eleven-week campaign. <br /><br /> He announced the election after visiting the representative of Queen Elizabeth, Canada’s head of state, to formally request the dissolution of parliament.<br /><br /> “The debt crisis in Europe shows no sign of abating, China is in the midst of a significant slowdown, recovery in the US remains slower than expected,” said Harper after announcing the vote. “Once again, these trends abroad impact our life here, in our country.”<br /><br /> Harper’s right-of-centre Conservative Party which has been office since two-thousand-and-six are trailing behind the left-leaning New Democrats (NDP) who have never governed Canada. <br /><br /> The Liberals of Justin Trudeau are well behind in third place. <br /><br /> Both parties say Canada needs a change.<br /><br /> The country’s eleven-week campaign is the longest in modern Canadian history and the third longest on record. <br /><br /> Opposition parties say this is an
