ANALYSIS: Snap Election Showdown: Crucial Next Few Weeks

While the Conservatives have been clear that they want an election today, a second federal party—the Bloc Québécois—this week left no ambiguity as to its position on forcing an early election, saying it wants passage of two key bills before November in order to retain its support of the Liberals. The NDP’s position, meanwhile, still remains ambiguous, with the party saying it will be looking at confidence votes on a case-by-case basis. Both the NDP and the Bloc had made it clear since last week that they would vote against the Conservatives’ non-confidence motion on Sept. 25 to bring down the minority Liberal government, saying they want to make calls on the issue on their own terms....