Nov. 29 (Bloomberg) -- Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper delayed an opposition bid to topple his Conservative Party government by a week, seeking to thwart their effort to make his administration the shortest-lived in Canada’s history.

The opposition Liberal Party indicated earlier yesterday it may introduce a motion as early as Dec. 1 to bring down Harper and form an “alternative” government with the support of other opposition parties.

Harper accused the opposition of trying to “take power” and said Liberal Leader Stephane Dion doesn’t have a mandate to govern without new elections. In a televised statement in front of the House of Commons chamber, he appealed to public opinion and said he won’t allow Parliament to vote on his defeat until Dec. 8, a procedural move that buys time.

“Stephane Dion does not have the right to take power without an election,” Harper said. “It’s now up to all of us to stand up for the right of Canadians to choose their own government.”

Harper heads Canada’s third-consecutive minority government in four years, the longest stretch without one party in control of the country’s legislature since the 1960s. Harper called last month’s elections in a bid to end the political deadlock he claimed was undermining his minority government’s ability to manage the economic slowdown.

Stimulus Package

Transport Minister John Baird said today the government won’t proceed with a proposal to end public party financing, which the opposition parties had rejected.

The Liberals said yesterday they may introduce a motion to bring down the government over its “failure to recognize the seriousness of Canada’s economic situation,” according to the text of the resolution.

The move came a day after Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said he would wait until his budget early next year to determine whether to press ahead with a stimulus package. Opposition blocs have been calling for immediate aid to ailing industries, particularly support for automakers and forestry companies.

“Until Stephen Harper presents a proposal to Parliament that helps people during these tough economic times, we won’t support him,” Scott Brison, the Liberals’ finance critic, told reporters today in Ottawa. “There has been no plan, no ideas and no investment at a time when he’s out of step with all other industrial leaders across the planet.”

Dust Settling

If Harper’s government loses power next month, it would be the shortest government in history, replacing Joe Clark’s Progressive Conservative government that lasted two months and six days in 1979, according to Parliament’s Web site.

Harper is “letting the dust settle a little bit,” said Rejean Pelletier, a political science professor at Laval University in Quebec City. The prime minister “wants to give himself a week to see events coming and evaluate the situation a bit more.”

Harper’s Conservatives went into Oct. 14 elections with 127 seats and increased their total to 143, still short of the 155 needed for the majority required to control the legislative agenda. The government needs support of at least one other party to pass legislation and for a year before last month’s vote relied on the Liberals to pass laws and remain in power.

In the motion, the Liberals claim they can form a “viable alternative government.”

Willing Partner?

Flaherty’s economic plan also would sell some state assets and cap wage gains for bureaucrats in a bid to keep the country’s finances in surplus. He said he may introduce a stimulus package next year if needed. Gross domestic product will contract 1 percent in the fourth quarter and 0.4 percent in the first quarter of 2009, the technical definition of a recession, Flaherty said.

The most likely coalition partner for the Liberals would be with the left-leaning New Democratic Party. Thomas Mulcair, the NDP’s finance critic and deputy leader, was vague when asked about possible coalition talks.

“The three opposition parties talk regularly,” Mulcair told reporters yesterday. “For obvious reasons, for the past 48 hours we’ve been talking a great deal more.”

Gilles Duceppe, leader of the separatist Bloc Quebecois party, told reporters outside Parliament today that while he won’t take part in any government his lawmakers “could accept” a coalition that considers the interests of French-speaking Quebec. The Liberals and the NDP together don’t have enough seats to control Parliament without the Bloc’s help.

Such a move would require the backing of the country’s ceremonial head of state, Governor General Michaelle Jean. She may also refuse their request, a decision that would trigger elections, the country’s fourth since 2004.

“Oh Lord, not again!” Helene Henderson, 69, a retired nurse from Brookville, Nova Scotia, said when asked about the prospect of another election. “I hope it doesn’t happen.”

To contact the reporters on this story: Theophilos Argitis in Ottawa at targitis@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: November 29, 2008 16:55 EST