THE odds of Canada's corruption scandal ending with an early election shortened further when Opposition Leader Stephen Harper declared he could no longer trust the minority Liberal Government.
Backing the Conservative Party leader's sentiment was the smaller, Left-leaning New Democratic Party, which has generally supported the Liberals in parliament.
It said for the first time that Canada might need to go back to the ballot box.
The Conservatives lead the Liberals in opinion polls, in large part due to public anger over a government spending scandal involving alleged kickbacks to the Liberal Party in Quebec.
The scandal dates back to the 1990s and the Liberal leadership of former prime minister Jean Chretien.
It erupted two weeks ago when a judge, heading an inquiry into the alleged misuse of public funds, lifted a publication ban on testimony by Montreal advertising executive Jean Brault.
Mr Brault, who faces fraud charges stemming from the scandal, told the federal inquiry that senior Liberals forced him to secretly divert more than $US818,000 ($1.1million) to the party's Quebec wing in exchange for sponsorship contracts.
Mr Chretien and Prime Minister Paul Martin have denied any knowledge of wrongdoing.
Opposition parties are widely expected to try to bring down the Government and force an election in June.
The Liberals said they would make it harder for the Conservatives under Mr Harper to introduce a no-confidence motion in parliament this week.
Mr Harper said the move had broken "any remaining bonds of trust" with the only opposition party, the Conservative Party, that had not so far voted no confidence in the Liberals.
And the New Democrats said the Government's move made it less likely the party would back the Liberals.
"After the Prime Minister has shut down the democratic process here ... my guess is there will be more people that are calling for some accountability, perhaps in the form of an election," party leader Jack Layton said.
A series of opinion polls show that if an election were held now, the most likely result would be a minority Conservative government. The Liberals have been in power since November 1993.
Political instability has the potential to unsettle financial markets and put the Canadian dollar under pressure, especially if Quebec separatists try to take advantage of the turmoil and push for an early referendum on breaking away from Canada.
Separatists lost the last referendum on Quebec sovereignty in 1995 by the slimmest of margins. They are well ahead of the Liberals in Quebec opinion polls, but that may reflect the French-speaking province's disillusionment with the federal and provincial Liberal governments, rather than a widespread desire for an independent Quebec.
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"Those who are in power are to be held responsible, and that includes me," Canada's Prime Minister, Paul Martin, told his nation in the first live address by a PM in ten years. "If so much as a dollar is found to have made its way into the Liberal Party for ill-gotten gains, it will be repaid to the people of Canada."  

Conservative Leader Stephen Harper described Mr Martin's broadcast as "a party leader playing for time, begging for another chance".

"After the Prime Minister has shut down the democratic process here ... my guess is there will be more people that are calling for some accountability, perhaps in the form of an election," New Democratic Party (NDP) leader Jack Layton said.

A series of opinion polls show that in an election held today, a minority Conservative government would probably result, reports ''The Australian''.