G&M: PM ready to call by-elections, sources say

[tuvor]

Federal Conservatives have been put on alert to prepare for two snap by-election calls in Ontario and Quebec, a move that would catch Liberal workers in the middle of their leadership campaign and put pressure on some leadership candidates to run.

Sources told The Globe and Mail that Prime Minister Stephen Harper could make the call as early as today or on the weekend.

One vacant seat is in London, Ont., where Liberal MP Joe Fontana resigned to run for London's mayoralty. The other is Repentigny, a Montreal-area riding made vacant by the recent death of Bloc Québécois MP Benoît Sauvageau.

Calling the London by-election now would force Liberal leadership candidates who don't have seats in the House of Commons to decide whether they want to take the plunge during the heat of the leadership race.

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