Canada government may call Oct. 14 election-source

OTTAWA, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Canada's minority Conservative government is seriously considering having Parliament dissolved on Sept. 5 and calling a general election for Oct. 14, a senior Conservative source said on Monday.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has been complaining about what he calls a dysfunctional Parliament and the need for a new mandate, but this is the most specific anybody had been about when an election could actually happen.

The last national vote was in January 2006, leaving the Conservatives with a minority of seats in the House of Commons and relying on the support of at least one opposition party to pass legislation and remain in power.

Opinion polls point to another minority government, with neither the Conservatives nor the main opposition Liberals enjoying a clear lead.

Harper says he wants to meet with the leaders of the three opposition parties to see if any of them are willing to let the government get on with its mandate.

But no meeting has been scheduled with Liberal leader Stephane Dion, and Harper is heading to the Arctic on Tuesday for a three-day trip, making any election call this week unlikely.

But talks could be held next week and, if there is no meeting of minds, then he could make the election call on Friday, Sept. 5.

"However, nothing is certain yet," the Conservative source said.

One strategic advantage of triggering an election on Sept. 5 would be that it would cancel four by-elections scheduled for later in the month. All four seats had been held by the opposition parties, and Harper may want to deny them a chance to gain momentum.

It would also mean the vote would be called before the scheduled Sept. 15 return of Parliament from its summer recess.

For most of his mandate, Harper has said he hopes to govern until the fixed election date of Oct. 19, 2009, but he has lately expressed growing frustration with what he calls Liberal obstruction.

The Conservative government has lasted longer than most Canadian minorities, which are usually lucky to run 18 months. (Reporting by Randall Palmer; editing by Rob Wilson)