The Bloc Québécois and New Democratic Party will vote against extending Canada's mission to Afghanistan by two years, while the Liberals say their MPs can vote according to their conscience.
INDEPTH: Afghanistan
Bloc Leader Gilles Duceppe said Wednesday that the deployment is unpopular in Quebec and that his party couldn't support the motion, which MPs will debate beginning at 3 p.m. EDT.
The Conservatives announced the surprise vote earlier this week. MPs will spend six hours debating whether Canada's 2,300 troops will come home next February or stay in Afghanistan until early 2009.
Late Tuesday, NDP Leader Jack Layton said New Democrats will vote against the extension.
"We will not be supporting the new mission, with so many questions, that's being proposed by the Conservatives," Layton told reporters following a caucus meeting.
The NDP supported Canadian troops in a peacekeeping role, which were the terms of the current deployment, scheduled to end in February 2007, said Layton.
An extension to 2009 is a "very different kind of mission ... that engages us in warfare on the border with another country," said Layton.
With 29 and 51 seats respectively, the NDP and BQ have 80 of Parliament's 308 seats. At 125 seats, the minority Conservative government needs 29 of the Liberal's 102 seats in order to win. There is one Independent.
The opposition parties believe that if Canada extends its stay in Afghanistan it won't be able to respond to other trouble spots such as Darfur, Sudan.
But Prime Minister Stephen Harper called the Afghan mission vital, saying Canada is providing "international leadership and providing real advancement to the standard of living and human rights of the Afghan people."
Liberals to hold free vote
The Liberals, who approved the initial deployment, appeared caught off guard by the vote announcement.
Liberal Leader Bill Graham said it would be a free vote, but that MPs would be voting "with a gun put to our heads."
An agitated Graham questioned why opposition parties received only 48 hours notice of the vote and asked why the decision had to be made so quickly.
"Our members will listen and consider after a few hours of debate on a question of such vital importance for our troops and Canada's image abroad," said Graham.
Graham said his party supports the troops and the mission in Afghanistan, but is concerned by what he called a "strange" and "abusive" way to hold the vote.
"We will not play politics with this," said Graham.
MP and Liberal leadership candidate Michael Ignatieff said he needs to hear more details, while John Godfrey said his initial inclination would be to vote against it.
Liberal House leader Ralph Goodale accused Prime Minister Stephen Harper of trying to force opposition parties into making an early decision.
But Harper says MPs have had lots of time to decide.
"Members of this House, the parties of this House, have had five years to decide what their position is on this mission. We want to be sure that our troops have the support of this Parliament going forward."
The Tory motion reads: "That this House support the government's two-year extension of Canada's diplomatic, development, civilian police and military personnel in Afghanistan and the provision of funding and equipment for this extension."