After federal Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff made it clear that the party will no longer support Prime Minister Stephen Harper's minority Conservative government, Yukon MP Larry Bagnell is preparing to fight in what could be the second general election in a little more than a year.

Yesterday, Ignatieff said the Liberals will vote against the Conservatives in all matters of confidence after Parliament reconvenes Sept. 14.

If the government falls, precipitating a general election, it would be Bagnell's fifth election since first winning the territory's seat in 2000. But the MP is not dusting off his campaign signs just yet.

"It doesn't depend solely on us, as we need all three opposition parties to vote against the government, so I can't say for sure (if there will be and election)," Bagnell told the Star this morning from Sudbury, Ont., where the Liberals are holding their annual caucus meeting.

As the Conservatives occupy 147 seats in the House of Commons, support from either the NDP or Bloc Quebecois would continue to prop up Harper's minority government.

However, there is no love lost between the Conservatives and the Bloc, and this, combined with recent comments a senior Tory made about the NDP, appears to slam the door on any compromise making a pre-Christmas trip to the polls very likely.

"Look, we've always tried to demonstrate willingness to co-operate with the opposition parties. We did in the last budget. But we're not for sale to the highest bidder, least of all the NDP," Jason Kenney, the federal Immigration minister, told a Calgary radio show host this morning.

"It's a party of hard-core left-wing ideologues.... It's not like a moderate, centre-left party. These folks, they drink their own Kool-Aid, right? So I don't think we can see a realistic arrangement with the NDP."

From Bagnell's perspective, the Conservatives have done little to inspire confidence in Canadians, and he is prepared to let voters decide which party is most capable of running the country.

"Basically, we're going to stand strictly for our vision and principles - strong health care, helping the needy, good programs for aboriginals and creating jobs in Canada," Bagnell said.

"We'll reverse the (Conservatives') cuts to research and improve our connections with countries overseas including China and India."

While stopping short of blaming the Harper government for the state of the country's economy - either mired in recession or starting to pull out of it depending on which economist one talks to - Bagnell said the Conservatives are not doing enough to help Canadians weather the storm.

The Yukon MP also dismissed Tory suggestions that a federal election would create economic uncertainty at the worst possible time, noting Harper precipitated last year's election while the country was on the edge of recession.

"(The Conservatives) are the ones who created the uncertainty. When we were on the brink of the recession last fall, which they said wasn't was coming ... they created problems in Parliament (after the 2008 election) that delayed the stimulus package, the economy is the perfect reason (to have an election)," said Bagnell.

"We've got the worst deficit in history, worst economy in two decades ... so an election would be helpful for Canadians."

It's a sentiment shared by John Streicker, Yukon's Green Party candidate, but he is not as convinced that an election is the cure all.

"I wish we didn't have a pointless election last fall, and all the proroguing and then the lack of constructive debate in Parliament," Streicker said.

"That's what feels wasted to me. While I don't think current government polices are good and I'd like to see them changed ... my impression is that it's still all about power and not really about democracy ... too much election and not enough leadership."

Nevertheless, Streicker opened the Yukon Green Party office yesterday. With party membership bolstered by 50 per cent and three times the war chest as in the previous election, the Green candidate is prepared.

"We're ready to go," he told the Star.

In the October 2008 election, Streicker increased the party's popular vote share in the territory nearly threefold and finished ahead of NDP candidate Ken Bolton.

The Greens now boast 150 Yukon members and $15,000 to spend in the next election battle.

Bagnell's campaign in the 2008 election cost more than $56,000 while Conservative candidate Darrell Pasloski, who finished a distant second to Bagnell, spent nearly $69,000.

The NDP is without a local federal candidate and Pasloski is out of the territory and was unavailable to comment for this story.