residence, Dion emerges stating there is no common ground between the two parties, and that an election is certain. September 5, 2008: The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) announces that Prime Minister Stephen Harper will visit the Governor General at 9:00 am on September 7, 2008 to ask for the dissolution of the 39th Parliament and a general election on October 14, 2008. September 7, 2008: Prime Minister Harper asks Governor General Michaëlle Jean to call a general election on October 14, 2008. She accepts the request. October 14, 2008: Elections held for members of the House of Commons in the 40th Canadian Parliament. November 4, 2008: Writs to be returned to the Chief Election Officer. November 18, 2008: 40th Parliament summoned. December 1, 2008: The Liberals and NDP sign agreement on proposed coalition government to replace the governing Conservatives under Prime Minister Harper. December 1, 2008: The Liberals, NDP, and Bloc Québécois sign "policy accord" whereby the Bloc would support a Liberal/NDP government for at least 18 months. December 4, 2008: Parliament prorogued by the Governor General during the parliamentary dispute on advice of the Prime Minister. January 26, 2009: Parliament to reconvene for second session. Pre-election Prime Minister Stephen Harper said he was considering calling an election because of a lack of cooperation in Parliament, saying "all the signs indicate that this Parliament is at the end of its productiveness," while in Inuvik, Northwest Territories. The Conservative Party of Canada fueled rumours of an oncoming election when it released several campaign advertisements that focused on a range of issues, and attacked the Liberal Party of Canada for their proposed carbon tax. The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) confirmed that Harper would call an election for October 14 after meeting with New Democratic Party leader Jack Layton and Bloc Québécois leader Gilles Duceppe, which gave the Prime Minister little hope that a fall session of Parliament can be productive, PMO officials said. Senior government officials announced on the first of September that Stephen Harper would ask the Governor General, Michaëlle Jean, to dissolve parliament and call an election for October 14, after he met with Liberal leader Stéphane Dion who called the meeting a "charade". Dion said the two were unable to agree on how to make the upcoming session of Parliament, slated to begin September 15, more productive. Liberal Party members gathered in Winnipeg on September 2, for a three-day