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"Many Liberal MPs believe that Mr. Harper still wants to trigger an election, while Mr. Dion is still new in his job -- and some express concerns that the team around him has not jelled into a fighting force."

Liberal riding associations feeling pressure to fill slates
Hurried nomination meetings are being arranged across the country, including Quebec, where dozens of spots are vacant
CAMPBELL CLARK March 28 Globe and Mail

OTTAWA — The federal Liberals are scrambling to nominate the lion's share of their candidates by mid-April to prepare for what many in the party view as an increased likelihood of a spring election.

Several party officials in Quebec believe the results of Monday's provincial election will only heighten Prime Minister Stephen Harper's desire to trigger an election.

The federal Liberals still have not selected candidates in more than 60 of Quebec's 75 ridings, and plans to accelerate nomination meetings in ridings across the province are to be worked on this Friday at a meeting of the Quebec wing's electoral commission.

Party officials say they want most of the nominations completed within "weeks."

"I think we have to expect a federal election soon. We in Quebec are on red alert," said Robert Fragasso, president of the federal Liberals' Quebec wing.

Mr. Harper and the Conservatives are probably optimistic after the provincial election results, although there are lessons about the unpredictability of voters, Mr. Fragasso said.

"I think the results [of the Quebec election] might incite Mr. Harper to find a reason to go into an election. He might think that the ADQ's clientele resembles the Conservatives' clientele," Mr. Fragasso said. "But we have a leader that can surprise."

Action Démocratique Leader Mario Dumont won ground in the eastern half of Quebec and the suburbs around Montreal with an appeal to middle-class families -- an electoral strategy that Mr. Harper hopes to duplicate.

The election also put pressure on Parti Québécois Leader André Boisclair to step down.

Across the country, the Liberals are on track to have nearly all of their candidates nominated by mid-April, party officials say -- although so far less than half have been chosen.

In February, the party gave provincial wings approval to schedule nomination meetings, aiming to have candidates in place for a potential spring election, but about half of the country's 308 ridings remain to be filled over the next four weeks.

However, party officials are generally trying to play down the crush to pick candidates to avoid contributing to the sense that momentum is building toward a spring election, which the Liberals want to avoid.

The party held an election-preparation meeting on Sunday, with party and campaign officials flown in from across the country, where participants were told that the "core" of the new Liberal platform is ready, although party insiders said some items are still being debated.

"The platform is particularly important with a leader who is so policy-oriented as Stéphane Dion," said Nova Scotia MP Scott Brison, the Liberal platform co-chair.

"We will be able to communicate, clearly and simply, good public policy."

Many Liberal MPs believe that Mr. Harper still wants to trigger an election, while Mr. Dion is still new in his job -- and some express concerns that the team around him has not jelled into a fighting force.