Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper was Thursday to call for the two-week old parliament to be suspended to block an opposition bid to topple his government and take over without fresh elections.

Harper was meeting with Governor General Michaelle Jean, the country's acting head of state as the representative of Queen Elizabeth II, to ask her to end the current session to buy him time to resolve the political turmoil.

The unprecedented move comes after a week of political turmoil, which has rocked the country and sharply divided public opinion.

The Liberal opposition led by Stephane Dion has spearheaded moves to oust the minority Conservative government, accusing Harper of failing to address the plunging economy in the Group of Eight nation.

As a parliamentary vote of no-confidence looms on Monday, Harper is fighting for his survival just seven weeks after being re-elected at the head of a minority government in snap elections.

Dion has called on Jean to dissolve the current government and install in its place a three-party opposition alliance, including Quebec separatists, without fresh elections.

Opposition politicians notably accuse the government of failing to boost the country's economy as it confronts the global financial crisis.

But the turmoil was also triggered when the government sought to cut public subsidies to political parties, a move which would have hit the opposition groups the hardest.

Harper now wants more time to work on a new budget, including economic stimulus measures, to present to parliament in January.

"Well obviously we hope that ... for the nation, for our economic stability that the governor-general will grant a timeout," the leader of the Conservatives parliamentary group Jay Hill told broadcaster CBC.

"Then we can come back on January 26 to parliament when it's due to resume and bring in a budget the next day on January 27," he added.

Harper urged Canadians in a televised address on Wednesday to reject the opposition's bid to oust his government, saying the country was facing "a pivotal moment in our history."

"Canadians take pride in our history as one of the world's oldest continuous democracies," said the prime minister.

"During the past 141 years, political parties have emerged and disappeared, leaders have come and gone, and governments have changed.

"Constant in every case however is the principle that Canada's government has always been chosen by the people."

Under the Canadian constitution, the governor general has the power to accept or reject the prime minister's request to suspend parliament.

Constitutional experts say no governor general has ever refused a prime minister's request to suspend parliament. But then no premier has ever requested such a move so soon after an election.

Opposition leader Dion has rejected any move to halt the work of the assembly.

"The Harper Conservatives have lost the confidence of the majority of members of the House of Commons ... They have lost the right to govern," Dion said in his own address to the nation.

"We believe we can better solve the challenges facing Canada through teamwork and collaboration, rather than blind partisan feuding and hostility."

If the opposition vote is passed on Monday in parliament, the governor general would then have to decide if she agrees to hold new elections -- the fourth in four years -- or whether to allow the opposition to step in.