OTTAWA — Stephen Harper is challenging a key element of Canada’s parliamentary democracy, saying the ability of the opposition parties to defeat his minority government and be asked to govern themselves is open to “debate.”

In an interview with CBC News on Thursday, Harper refused to concede that the opposition parties have the constitutional right to form government after the May 2 vote if they can win backing of most MPs in the House of Commons.

At first, he dismissed the question as a “constitutional theoretical discussion.”

But asked whether the opposition parties would have the “right” to form government, Harper said “that’s a question, a debate of constitutional law.

“My view is that the people of Canada expect the party that wins the election to govern the country ... anything else, the public will not buy,” he Peter Mansbridge.

Harper also said that if his party comes in second in the election, he would not form government — even if asked by the governor general in the event the front-runner failed to win the confidence of the Commons.

“If the other guys win, they get a shot at government and I don’t think you challenge that unless you are prepared to go back to the people,” he said.

“We’ll be into another election before too long. That’s why I think need a majority mandate. I think this has gone on long enough.”

Parliamentary expert Ned Franks dismissed Harper’s comments as “constitutional nonsense.”

“There’s only one requirement for being the government and that is you must enjoy the confidence of the House of Commons,” said Franks, professor emeritus at Queen’s University.

“It’s not a constitutional debate. Constitutionally, there’s absolutely no question. There are ample precedents both in Canada and abroad to support it.”

Franks accused the Conservative leader of trying to rewrite the Constitution for his own end.

“He’s trying to change not just the Constitution in terms of what confidence means, he’s also trying to change it in terms of how governments are formed,” Franks said.

“What he’s trying to do is elevate expediency into a constitutional principle.”

In a convention suggested by former governor general Adrienne Clarkson, the defeat of a minority government within six months of an election should not automatically trigger a return to the polls. Instead, the governor general could ask one of the other parties if they can hold the confidence of the Commons and form government.

Harper has campaigned hard on the notion that unless he wins a majority, the opposition parties will defeat his Conservatives and take power themselves, a theme he talked up Thursday.

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“Either we’ll have a Conservative majority or there will be a minority Parliament where the other guys will have a majority and they will act on that majority,” he said in the CBC interview.

“I think it’s important the people of Canada understand these are the choices because I do think most Canadians would still be very surprised if they elected a Conservative minority and found out they had some completely different kind of government,” Harper said.

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