Mr Harper acted after getting the approval of the Governor-General, Michaelle Jean. Had his request been rejected, he would have had to choose between stepping down or facing the no-confidence vote.

The opposition fiercely criticised the decision to suspend Parliament, accusing Mr Harper of undermining the nation's democracy.

"Is this the kind of government [Canadians] want?" said Bob Rae, a leading member of the opposition Liberal Party. "Do we want a party in place that is so undemocratic that it will not meet the House of Commons?"

That sentiment was echoed by constitutional scholars, who lamented that the Governor-General might have created a mechanism future prime ministers could use to bypass Parliament.

Thursday's events had their origins in a tightly contested election, which Mr Harper's Conservative Party won less than two months ago without achieving a majority.

In light of that and the growing economic turmoil, Mr Harper promised to work closely with the opposition in Parliament. But when he presented a proposed budget last week, it had none of the stimulus programs that the opposition had sought to help Canada's sagging economy. Instead it called for a three-year ban on strikes by civil servants and the abolition of public financing for political parties.

This was the final insult for the main opposition parties, the New Democrats and the Liberals. They considered it a deliberate slap because Mr Harper's Conservative Party is far better financed than they are. Those events provoked them to put together a coalition with the backing of the separatist Bloc Quebecois to displace the Conservative government.

Mr Harper said he suspended Parliament to allow time to put together a budget that he will introduce in January.

Stephane Dion, who leads the Liberals and who would become the coalition's prime minister, said the Conservatives' budget was unlikely to satisfy the opposition's economic demands. "We do not want any more of his words, we don't believe them," Mr Dion said.

Opposition leaders strongly criticised Harper's attempt to thwart them. "He's put a lock on the door on the House of Commons," said Jack Layton, the leader of the New Democrats. "He refuses to face the people of Canada through their elected representatives."

In contrast to the relative indifference to the elections two months ago, the present situation has provoked a passionate debate in the country.

The issue has also inflamed regional tensions. In western Canada, political commentators are arguing that the coalition is an attempt by Ontario to deny political influence to the west. At the same time, many Quebecers have been offended by Conservative suggestions that they have no interest in remaining a part of Canada.

The New York Times;

Guardian News & Media