Canada ? Canada’s prime minister on Sunday triggered an early election, dissolving Parliament in a bid to bolster his party’s grip on power in a vote next month that will be the country’s third national ballot in four years.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper says he expects the Oct. 14 vote to produce another minority government but recent polls show the Conservatives could win the majority they need to rule without help from opposition parties.

Analysts said Harper’s party has a better shot of winning now than if they had waited until being forced into a vote later when the Canadian economy might be worse off or after Canadians could be influenced by the U.S. presidential election results.

The Conservatives unseated the Liberal Party in 2006 after nearly 13 years in power but as a minority government have been forced to rely on opposition lawmakers to pass legislation and adopt budgets.