By David Ljunggren OTTAWA, Dec 14 (Reuters) - The chances of a quick election in Canada rose on Thursday when both the main opposition parties said they would not back the minority Conservative government in crucial votes early next year. The Conservatives won the Jan. 23 election but only control 124 of the 308 seats in the House of Commons, which makes them particularly vulnerable if the opposition combines forces. Many commentators predict Prime Minister Stephen Harper will be defeated over his next budget, which is expected in February or March. If Parliament rejects a budget, the government falls and the country goes to the polls. Stephane Dion, elected the new leader of the Liberals two weeks ago, dismissed the idea he could back the budget. "To say to my colleagues, 'I love the budget Mr. Harper is presenting,' is very unlikely. I think they (the Conservatives) are making big mistakes," he told a news conference. "My capacity to be in agreement with Mr. Harper is very low." A Decima poll released to the Canadian Press on Thursday showed the Liberals at 35 percent compared with 32 percent for the Conservatives, which suggests Dion could win a narrow minority government of his own. "I don't want to rush Canadians into an election, but my responsibility is that my party be ready for an election," he said. An election in the first half of 2007 would be the fifth national vote in less than 10 years. The separatist Bloc Quebecois this week threatened to introduce a motion of no confidence over Harper's handling of the Canadian mission to Afghanistan unless he changes the mandate of the troops to reduce the risk of combat. Canada has 2,500 soldiers in the southern city of Kandahar, scene of clashes with Taliban militants. So far more than 40 Canadian soldiers have died. La Presse newspaper on Thursday said the Bloc -- which seeks independence for the French-speaking province of Quebec -- aimed to introduce a no-confidence motion on Feb. 15. Duceppe spokesman Frederic Lepage would not confirm the report but noted the Bloc was also unhappy about Harper's refusal to stick to the Kyoto Protocol on climate change and his reluctance to hand over extra federal cash to Quebec. "There are three topics, any one of which could be used to bring down the government on a no-confidence motion. Afghanistan is one of them. We'd be prepared to go to the polls on that issue," he said. The Bloc says Canadian troops should be helping rebuild Afghanistan. The left-leaning New Democrats want the soldiers out, while the Liberals demand the mission focus on reconstruction. Opposition parties can present motions of no-confidence on so-called opposition days, when they are allowed to set the agenda in the House of Commons. The Conservatives won power largely because they unexpectedly picked up 10 seats in Quebec. Recent polls show at least some of these seats are at risk from the Bloc, in part because of public unhappiness over Harper's Kyoto stance. The Conservatives could pass their budget with the backing of the New Democrats and one of two independent legislators in Parliament. Polls show the New Democrats have been losing support to the Liberals since the election of Dion, a former environment minister who campaigned on green issues. Newspapers this week speculated Harper would soon shuffle his cabinet to sideline Environment Minister Rona Ambrose, widely criticized for being ineffective. A Harper official denied there would be a shuffle.
