By David Ljunggren and Randall Palmer
OTTAWA, July 28 (Reuters) - Canada's governing Conservatives
are likely to lengthen this year's election campaign by
launching it in August, three senior party sources said, a move
that would benefit the cash-rich party.
Canadians go to the polls on Oct. 19. Given that campaigns
must last at least 37 days, the latest date Prime Minister
Stephen Harper could start this year's would be Sept. 13. Five
of the last six campaigns have run about that length.
But the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said
Harper's party already has its machinery in place and is
expected to launch the campaign in August, possibly the first
week.
This would benefit the Conservatives, who last year changed
a law that had imposed a maximum spending limit of around C$25
million ($19 million) on campaigns.
The new law increased the limit by about C$700,000 for every
day beyond the minimum 37-day length.
The Conservatives have a larger donor base than their rivals
and raised C$6.3 million in the first quarter, more than the two
main opposition parties combined.
"A long campaign financially exhausts the other parties,"
said one person familiar with Conservative strategy.
The right-of-center Conservatives, in power since 2006, are
seeking a rare fourth consecutive victory. Opinion polls suggest
they will find it tough to maintain their parliamentary
majority.
Before the campaign starts, party spending is unlimited. The
Conservatives have run many ads attacking their opponents.
Despite this blitz, they have not been able to pull ahead in the
polls.
The final decision on timing rests with Harper. Neither his
office nor the Conservative Party responded to requests for
comment.
An August call would prompt questions about why Harper wants
such a long campaign, particularly one starting in midsummer
when few are paying attention.
Senior Conservatives said one justification is that Canada,
effectively, has already been in campaign mode for months.
Thomas Mulcair, leader of the opposition New Democratic
Party (NDP), has been holding daily events since July 20,
winning more media coverage than Harper. The NDP has a slight
lead in many polls.
Asked on Tuesday what impact an early call would have on NDP
funding, he said: "We will be ready for anything that happens."
Infrastructure Minister Denis Lebel said on Monday that a
longer campaign would allow the Conservatives to better lay out
the contrasts between their policies and the opposition's.
Critics charge that Harper - who came to power promising to
increase accountability - is abusing government power for
partisan purposes.
Ottawa increased child benefits last year and arranged for
large checks to start arriving in July, accompanied by a flood
of commercials paid for with taxpayer dollars.
All such government advertising must stop once an election
is called, as would third-party advertising campaigns such as
those being run by unions against Harper.
"If we go early, at least the opposition can't complain that
we're campaigning with tax dollars as the government ... So
there may be pretty compelling public rationale to go earlier,"
one Conservative source said.
($1=$1.29 Canadian)
(Editing by Jeffrey Hodgson; and Peter Galloway)