Calgary, Canada - Olympic speedskating champion Cindy Klassen of Canada will si

Montreal  – Voters in Canada's French-speaking province of Quebec elected a federalist provincial government Monday, handing the Liberal Party of Quebec a slim majority.

Premier Jean Charest's Liberals, who are not connected to the federal Liberal Party, won 66 seats in the 125-seat provincial legislature, with 42 per cent of the popular vote.

Charest, whose party held 48 of the 125 seats in Quebec's provincial parliament, called for early elections in the hope of securing a mandate at a time of economic crisis.

"In this period of economic uncertainty a lot of Quebecers recognized the need for stability and they reinforced our team by electing a majority government," Charest said.

Ottawa/New York  - Canadian liberal opposition leader Stephane Dione said late Monday he is ready to resign as soon as a successor is found, as his party accused him of having failed to successfully counter the ruling Conservative Party.

Dion failed to prevent Prime Minister Stephen Harper from forcing Canada's parliament into a seven-week recess to stave off a no-confidence vote against his minority government.

The Liberals and two other opposition parties joined forces to form a coalition government to replace Harper's Conservative minority government.

Lake Louise, Canada  - The women's World Cup downhill race in Lake Louise was cancelled Saturday because of too much snow.

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, Dec. 5  -- A roadside bomb in Afghanistan killed three Canadian soldiers and seriously injured two others Friday near Kandahar, military officials said.

The troops were on patrol in an armored vehicle around 9 a. m. when they hit the device, U. S. Maj. Gen. Michael Tucker, the deputy chief of staff of U. S. and NATO-led forces in Afghanistan, told reporters in a teleconference call.

The deaths are the first for the new rotation of Canadian troops, who arrived in Kandahar in September, a Canadian Broadcasting Corp. correspondent reported.

Lake Louise, Canada  - Defending overall champion Lindsey Vonn was in command to win the opening downhill of the women's alpine World Cup ski season on Friday.