Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced Sunday that Canadians will head to the polls to vote for a new federal government on Oct. 14. 

Harper’s pulled the plug on his government a year early, after fixing the next federal election date in law as Oct. 2009.

The national parties have both dived into their campaigns, with Liberal leader Stéphane Dion under attack from the Conservatives. Harper apologized Tuesday to Dion for an animation depicting a bird pooping on Dion’s shoulder. Some news outlets recorded the image before it was removed from the website, www.notaleader.ca, and posted it to their own sites.

NDP leader Jack Layton took his campaign to Fort Smith, where he said he wants to alert Canadians to the environmental dangers posed by oil sands production.

Green Party leader Elizabeth May is fighting the decision to exclude her from next month’s televised debates. Three of four leaders of the other major parties threatened to pull out of the debates if she was included.

Five parties are registered here in the Yellowhead riding, which includes Jasper, Hinton, Edson, Whitecourt, Drayton Valley and Barrhead.

Representing the Conservatives in Yellowhead is current member of Parliament Rob Merrifield, who was elected with 71 per cent of the vote in 2006 to secure a third term.

The NDP candidate is Ken Kuzminski from Jasper and the Green Party’s candidate is Monika Schaefer, also a Jasperite. John Wierenga of Barrhead is the candidate for the Christian Heritage Party. At press time, the Liberal Party had not selected a candidate.