Dec. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, fighting opposition threats to bring his government down, may visit the country’s governor general as soon as tomorrow to ask her to suspend Parliament until late January, putting his fate in the hands of an unelected ex-journalist.

Michaelle Jean, a native of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and former television reporter in Quebec, would have to decide whether to agree to Harper’s request or force him to face a vote of confidence in Parliament. The role of Jean, Queen Elizabeth II’s representative in Canada, is mostly ceremonial, and the last time a governor general exercised such powers, in 1926, led to a constitutional crisis.

“This is very unusual in Canadian federal politics,” said Cristine de Clercy, a political science professor at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario. “She’s in an unenviable position, because whichever path she takes, a large portion of Canadians will be unhappy.”

Harper’s Conservative Party, re-elected on Oct. 14 with Canada’s third straight minority government, is trying to thwart a bid by rival blocs to replace it with a coalition government they agreed Dec. 1 to try and form. To avoid Canada’s first governing coalition since it was founded in 1867, Harper will likely ask Jean, 51, to “prorogue,” or shut down, the legislature for a little less than two months.

That step would buy Harper’s government time to win public support and craft a budget slated for release on Jan. 27.

Televised Address

Harper, 49, is scheduled to speak to the nation tonight in a televised address at 7 p.m. New York time, followed by Stephane Dion, leader of the main opposition Liberal Party. The prime minister will likely visit the governor general tomorrow morning, the National Post said today, citing a government official that wasn’t identified by name.

Jean’s unprecedented predicament involves her facing two key questions. The first is whether to give Harper more time. Should she do so and Harper’s budget is rejected by lawmakers, she would then have to decide whether to let the proposed coalition try to govern or immediately send the country back into elections for the fourth time in five years.

In the so-called King-Byng affair of 1926, Lord Byng of Vimy, then-governor general, declined to call elections when Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King asked him to, giving Arthur Meighen, whose party had won more seats in the election, a chance to govern. Meighen lost a confidence vote as soon as Parliament reconvened and King won the ensuing election.

‘Firm Neutrality’

“The fundamentals are clear: Parliament must not be thwarted,” said Ed Schreyer, who was governor general from 1979 to 1984 and former premier of Manitoba, said today in an interview on the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. “The governor general must, above all, have a respectful and firm neutrality to the opposing groups in Parliament.”

Jean cut short a trip to Europe to come back to Canada today. There’s little in her background to prepare her for the dilemma she may be about to face.

The former broadcaster, who immigrated to Canada in 1968 with her parents and speaks five languages, was appointed in 2005 by former Liberal Party Prime Minister Paul Martin as Canada’s 27th governor general. At the time, she was working for Radio-Canada, the French-language version of the state- owned CBC. Before becoming a reporter, she studied literature and worked for women’s shelters.

She faced controversy early in her mandate over her French citizenship, which she later renounced, and allegations that she was sympathetic to Quebec separatists, which she denied.

Jean’s ‘Authority’

“She is the sovereign, she has all the authority,” said Stephen Clarkson, a political science professor at the University of Toronto, adding Jean will likely let the proposed coalition, led by Dion, form a government.

The Conservatives went into the recent election with 127 seats in Parliament and increased their total to 143, still short of the 155 needed to control the legislative agenda. The government needs support of at least one other party to pass legislation.

“She can’t just dismiss the opposition parties. That would be completely irresponsible and that’s not her role,” said Michael Behiels, a professor of political history at the University of Ottawa who also believes Jean will acquiesce to the Dion-led alliance. “She has to say yes.”

Crisis Origins

The crisis was sparked Nov. 27 when Finance Minister Jim Flaherty presented a fiscal update that included cuts to funding for political parties, limited civil servants’ right to strike and failed to offer a stimulus package to spur economic growth. The three opposition parties said they would oppose the plan and negotiated an alliance.

Harper and Flaherty have since backtracked on the political funding and labor rights, and also said they’ll present a budget Jan. 27 that would include stimulus measures.

The likelihood that Harper will have lost the confidence of Parliament so soon after elections will sway Jean in favor of the coalition, Behiels said.

To contact the reporters on this story: Alexandre Deslongchamps in Ottawa at adeslongcham@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: December 3, 2008 17:00 EST