Polls indicate Conservatives poised to defeat rival Liberals in Canada's federal elections.

(From AP Worldstream)

Byline: BETH DUFF-BROWN

Canada's Conservative Party, which would be more in line with the Bush administration policies, appeared to gain strength in its quest to end 13 years of Liberal Party rule as campaigning for national elections entered it's final weak.

Opinion polls released Monday show that Stephen Harper's opposition Conservatives were holding an advantage of 8 and 13 percentage points over Prime Minister Paul Martin's Liberal Party _ a gap that analysts say will be very difficult for the ruling party to overcome by Jan. 23, when voters will cast ballots for the 308-seat House of Commons.

In November, Martin's minority government was forced to call elections after it lost a no-confidence vote. Opponents have accused the Liberals of corruption and broken promises, themes that have resonated with voters.

"I think the Liberals are doing everything they can to do turn it around, but the reality is that we're at the point right now where only Stephen Harper can lose this election," said Nik Nanos, president of SES Research, a polling and management consulting group in Toronto, whose latest poll put Conservatives ahead by eight points. "Only some major mistake by Harper or someone close to him can derail the Conservative juggernaut."

A Strategic Council poll for The Globe and Mail and CTV said Monday that if elections were held today, the Conservatives would come out with 40 percent of the vote, compared with 27 percent for the Liberals. The New Democratic Party, meanwhile, won the support of 16 percent of those polled while Bloc Quebecois secured 11 percent and the Green Party, 6 percent.