Blog: England may slowly be getting ready for elections on May 5, but in Canada it’s time to elect the fourth national government in seven years.

The federal elections take place on May 2. Early voting has already begun and polls suggest the Conservative Party holds a wide lead over its rivals.

The election was triggered after the Speaker of the House of Commons, following a committee recommendation, found Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s minority Conservative Government to be in contempt of Parliament because of its failure to disclose the full costs of anti-crime programmes and plans to purchase fighter jets from the US.

A no-confidence motion was passed by 156 votes to 145 and Parliament was dissolved.

In Canada, the two major political parties are the Conservatives and the Liberals.

There are also smaller parties such as the Bloc Quebecois, the New Democratic Party and the Green Party.

In Moose Jaw, many homes have signs on their front yards showing which candidate they support.

The current incumbent candidate for the Palliser region, which covers Moose Jaw, is Ray Boughen, of the Conservatives. At 73, he was the second oldest MP in the House during the last session.

He is fighting for his seat against the NDP’s Noah Evanchuk, Liberal Party candidate Russell Collicott and Green Party hopeful Larissa Shasko.

The region has seen visits from prominent politicians, hoping to sway voters to their party.

At the beginning of the campaign, NDP federal leader Jack Layton quickly popped into Moose Jaw, while a day later Stephen Harper made an announcement at a small business in the Regina portion of the riding. Regina is a city about 45 minutes drive from Moose Jaw.

Surprisingly few leaflets from candidates have dropped through our door to explain the candidates’ views.

This could be because we have a British flag outside our house and we can’t vote in the election as we’re not citizens or permanent Canadian residents.

However, I still find it interesting to know what’s going on in the political world of the country I live in.

Moose Jaw voters still undecided on who should represent Palliser in Parliament are able to attend a political forum in a city hotel today, Tuesday, April 26.

All four local candidates will be attending the forum to provide two-minute answers to questions from the audience.

Each of the candidates will also have five minutes to introduce themselves to voters.

This is certainly a good way to inform voters and hopefully many will attend tonight’s event.

Boughen says the top priority for Canada’s next government is jobs and economy.

He told the Times-Herald newspaper the last government has created 500,000 jobs since the start of the economic turn-down. He also said health care is an ongoing concern.

Collicott said his top priorities for the next government are family care, secondary education and improved pension options for Canadians.

Evanchuk said the NDP aims to get Ottawa working for families.

He told the Times-Herald the party will improve health services, reward job creators, strengthen pensions and make life more affordable.

Shasko said her top priorities include the economy, the environment, democracy, health care, child care and housing.

With less than a week to go until the federal election, there are worries voter turnout will be low.

But if Canada wants to avoid another minority government, people need to turn out to vote.

People need to vote for their local candidate and listen to them. There is no reward for not voting and it does not make a statement.

In my case, I’ll have to be content with watching and reporting on the election with interest.

But even though I can’t vote in Canada’s election, I have still made sure to send off my postal vote for the UK’s referendum on the Westminster voting system on May 5.