Canada's Prime Minister, Paul Martin, has announced that general elections will be held there on 23 January.
His minority Liberal Party government was ousted by the opposition in a no-confidence vote by 171 votes to 133 last night.
Mr Martin advised Canada's head of state, Governor General Michaelle Jean, early this morning to dissolve Parliament.
The campaign is expected to be the most hard-hitting in Canadian history.
The Liberals have been fighting accusations of receiving kickbacks from advertising firms awarded millions of dollars in government contracts from 1995 to 2002, when Jean Chretien was prime minister.
Mr Martin was finance minister at the time, but was exonerated by a judicial inquiry. But the scandal cost the Liberals a fourth consecutive majority government when an election was held last year.
New Democratic Party leader Jack Layton withdrew his support for the Liberals soon after the release of a damning preliminary report on the scandal in November.
Recent opinion polls suggest the most likely result is another minority Liberal government.
It will be the first election campaign fought over the Christmas holiday in Canada for decades.
