Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has called a snap early election for 20 September, saying he needed a new mandate to ensure voters approved of his Liberal government's plan to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Mr Trudeau, 49, is betting that high vaccination rates against the virus - about 64% of the country's population is fully vaccinated - and a post-pandemic economic rebound will help him prolong and strengthen his grip on power.
"The decisions your government makes right now will define the future your kids and grandkids will grow up in," Mr Trudeau told reporters. "So in this pivotal, consequential moment, who wouldn't want a say?"
Mr Trudeau spoke after visiting Governor General Mary Simon, the representative of head of state Britain's Queen Elizabeth, to formally request the dissolution of Parliament.
Polls suggest the Liberals will win their third consecutive election but may not regain a majority in the 338-seat House of Commons.
Mr Trudeau currently has only a minority of seats, leaving him reliant on other parties to govern.
Nationally, Liberals would win 35% of the vote, compared with 30% for the Conservatives and 19% for the left-leaning New Democrats, a Leger Marketing poll showed on 12 August.
The Liberals spent heavily on subsidies to businesses and individuals to limit the damage from CovidD-19, sending both the national debt and budget deficits to record highs.
The right-of-centre Conservatives, the Liberals' biggest rivals, say spending will increase if Mr Trudeau wins again, leaving generations of Canadians hobbled by debt.
Mr Trudeau, the son of long-time former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, first won a majority in 2015. But in the 2019 election, after decades-old black face pictures surfaced, he came up short of a majority.
Another minority administration would leave him likely relying once more on the New Democrats, who favour even heavier spending on social programmes. It would also raise questions about Mr Trudeau's future as the leader of his party.
Without a strong opponent to rail against in this election, as the main opposition Conservatives struggle, the Liberals fear the vote may fragment and hand them yet another minority government.
Some Liberals question the need for an early election, saying that although Mr Trudeau had complained about obstructionism from opposition parties, he managed to pass most of the legislation the Liberals proposed.
