Federal Conservatives are splashing cold water on any political deal with the NDP to avert a fall election, with one senior cabinet minister deriding the party as a bunch of "hard-core left-wing ideologues."

Immigration Minister Jason Kenney declared the Conservatives were not for sale to the highest bidder, "least of all the NDP."

"It's a party of hard-core left-wing ideologues. It's not like a moderate, centre-left party. So I don't think we can see a realistic arrangement with the NDP," Kenney told Calgary radio host Dave Rutherford.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper was more diplomatic, though just as pessimistic yesterday that he could strike a deal with NDP Leader Jack Layton.

"If people want to work together on things that will help the economy, we're willing to do that. But we've had no indication of that from Mr. Layton," said Harper, during a stop in Sault Ste. Marie.

All this sudden gearing-up to election readiness comes after Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff declared that Liberals would no longer be helping Harper's government stay in power.

A federal election this fall would be the fourth in just over five years.

Ignatieff said there's no turning back on his party's decision to no longer support the Conservatives.

"Just to make it clear, we're not in negotiation here. We did that in June," Ignatieff said in Sudbury as a three-day party caucus meeting wrapped up.

Harper, who admitted he was "a little bit surprised by some of these developments," now requires the support of either the Bloc Québécois or the NDP to keep his minority government alive.

And that could happen.

NDP Leader Jack Layton is scheduled to react today to the growing election speculation. But his MPs have already said they might back the Conservatives if action is promised on the party's priorities, which include measures to help seniors and the unemployed and regulate credit card rates.

Bloc Québécois Leader Gilles Duceppe yesterday left the door open to supporting the government if it acts on issues important to Quebec.

"We will be voting based on the interests and values of Quebec, issue by issue," Duceppe told a news conference.

He cited improved benefits for the unemployed, help for the battered forestry industry, concerns about Ottawa's plan for a national securities regulator and applying a French-only language law to federal institutions in the province.

"I'd be very surprised to see Mr. Harper support our positions. However, if he wants to surprise me, he can do that," he said.

And all this potential deal making could be put to the test sooner than expected. While the opposition Liberals say they intend to introduce a non-confidence motion later this month or early next month, there are signs the Conservatives plan to test the resolve of the opposition parties the very week that Parliament resumes on Sept. 14.

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That's when the Conservatives intend to introduce a motion to implement some measures contained in the March budget, including the home renovation tax credit.

That would put the Liberals in the position of having to vote against this popular rebate, although they've already promised a Liberal government would keep the tax measure.

As well, the Conservatives, under pressure from the opposition to boost employment insurance, could also bring in reforms to sweeten the benefits that same week – and dare the opposition to vote against them.

The June negotiation between Harper and Ignatieff produced a working group on employment insurance reform, which appears now to be defunct. Montreal MP Marlene Jennings said this week there was no sense in returning to the table because Conservatives weren't serious about presenting any substantial proposals.

Election-style Liberal TV ads will hit the airwaves next week, as Ignatieff and his party rev up for a federal campaign that could start within weeks.

Ignatieff has postponed a trip to China that would have removed him from the domestic political fray next week and he was talking yesterday about a platform that Canadians would see "very soon."

The television ads were screened for Liberal MPs yesterday at the final day of their retreat.

The series of TV spots, in English and in French, are mostly positive in tone, though the French-language ads reportedly take a few swipes at Harper and his policy reversals. For the most part, MPs said, the ads serve as an introduction to Ignatieff, his personality and his values. Several MPs described the ads as slick, well produced and hopeful in tone – a deliberate contrast to the negative ads Conservatives have been running against Ignatieff in the past months.

"They're strong, they're clean, they're simple and they're all about showing Canada what we Liberals already know about Michael Ignatieff – that he's an extraordinary leader," said Justin Trudeau, MP for the Quebec riding of Papineau.

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