Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper was set to call a parliamentary election for Oct. 19 on Sunday, kicking off a marathon 11-week campaign likely to focus on a stubbornly sluggish economy and his decade in power.
Harper's office said in a statement he was due to visit Governor General David Johnston — the representative of Queen Elizabeth, Canada's head of state — at 9:55 a.m. local time.
Harper is expected to seek the dissolution of parliament, triggering the start of the campaign.