Penelope Cruz at Toronto International Film Festival, now in progress, is probably not interested in yet another Canadian federal election either.

[UPDATED MARCH 18, 2011]. According to Jennifer Ditchburn, just after dinner (in Ottawa at least) last night: “A critical vote that could bring down the minority Conservative government has been tentatively scheduled for next Friday, sources tell The Canadian Press … Conservative sources say the motion is likely to be introduced on Sept. 18, and as per parliamentary rules must be voted on immediately. Prime Minister Stephen Harper will have just returned from a trip to the United States, and would be ready to visit the Governor General and kick off an election.”

If minority Prime Minister Harper has concluded that there really is no way he can co-operate with the New Democrats, now that both the Liberals and the Bloc have turned their backs, it no doubt makes sense for him to suddenly seize control of the election process himself.  And if things do move quite this quickly, we the Canadian people will likely be voting in the later part of October. Why is all this happening – after we just had a Canadian federal election last October 14, 2008? Randall White, author of various books on Canadian history and politics (Voice of Region: The Long Journey to Senate Reform in Canada, Ontario Since 1985, etc, etc) has one answer in “We may have almost forgotten the principles of our parliamentary democracy, but they’re ruling us anyway.”

UPDATE MARCH 18, 2011: A year and a half later we at long last seem very close to a defeat of the Harper minority government and yet another election! See “A pretty girl is like a melody .. has Canadian election of 2011 finally arrived on back of first ever contempt of Parliament censure?“

UPDATE SPTEMBER 18, 2009: For an update on Canadian federal politics as of Friday, September 18, 2009, see L. Frank Bunting’s In Brief report: “All fired up and ready to go in Canada?“