Prime Minister Stephen Harper visited the Governor General on Saturday morning and asked him to dissolve Parliament and set the election day.
On Friday the Conservative government was defeated on a confidence motion in the House of Commons, which caused the fall of the government.
Harper may have engineered this because his party is riding high in opinion polls with the opposition Liberals trailing more than 16 points behind.
The latest poll suggests the govrning party, which was short of 12 seats for a majority in Parliament, would be able to win a clear majority if its fortunes remain constant.
Harper plans to campiagn on his government's guidance on Canada through the toughest economic crsis in recent memory. The opposition campaign is likely to focus on the government's lack of intergity.
Political observes say if that is the tone of the campaign, Canadians will likely shift their political allegiances to Harper.
Harper kicked off his campaign warning Canadians against voting for the opposition, especially the separatist Bloc Quebecois, which he said has only one mission - to break up the country.
He said he would govern with a minority again if that is what Canada wants, but pleaded with the electorate to return a Conservative government to Ottawa.
The Prime Minister suggested that there is a risk of a coaltion that would not provide the stability that his Conservatives have provided since the party first came to power in January 2006.
The leader of the Liberal Party, Michael Ignatieff, has insisted that he will not enter into a coaltion and has warned that a vote for any party but the Liberals will return the country to the same state that it is in today - one in which a government has breached ethical rules and has lost the confidence of the House of Commons.
For full coverage of the Canada Election please visit Canadavotes2011
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