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You think it’s easy to count elections?

John Baird, Monday. I haven’t run across a single person who is saying ‘Canada needs a fifth election in as many years.’

Jason Kenney, this evening. If that’s the Liberal message, that we need two elections in one year, a fifth election in six years, at a time critical economic time, all I can say to my good friend John is, ‘Good luck trying to persuade Canadians that that makes any kind of sense.’

Monte Solberg, tonight. Four elections in six years??

For the record, if a federal election occurs this fall, it will be the fourth vote in just over five years, the fifth in nine years. And every party’s been involved in making it so.

Prime Minister Jean Chretien dissolved Parliament in 2000, a little over three years into his mandate. Prime Minister Paul Martin dissolved Parliament on May 23, 2004, three and a half years into his mandate. The Conservatives, NDP and Bloc Quebecois united on Nov. 28, 2005 to defeat Martin’s government. And Stephen Harper dissolved Parliament last fall, just over two and a half years into his mandate.