Canadians appear set to end nine years of Stephen Harper's Conservative rule at the ballot box Monday and elect a Liberal government led by Justin Trudeau.

Polling released Sunday on the eve of the vote showed the Liberals, after a late surge from third place, with a seven-point lead ahead of the Tories.

Stephen Harper is an economist once seen as prickly and more at home ploughing through economic theory than mingling with voters on the campaign trail. He contrasts with Thomas Mulcair, a charismatic orator and lawyer, and youthful-looking Justin Trudeau.

Harper is seeking his fourth mandate since 2006, while a Mulcair victory would mean the first ever New Democratic government in Canada.

New polling showed the former frontrunner in Canada's legislative elections could finish third over its opposition to a popular ban on the veil, as political leaders squared off in a final debate Friday.

The race is still too close to call, however, with the rivals also sparring over taxes, trade negotiations, the Syrian refugee crisis, air strikes against the Islamic State group and upcoming Paris climate talks. Canada goes to the polls on October 19.

Two radical Islamists who plotted to derail a packed passenger train traveling between Toronto and New York were sentenced Wednesday to life in prison in Canada.

Tunisian national Chiheb Esseghaier was found guilty in March of all five charges against him, including conspiracy to participate in or contribute to terrorist activities.

Canada's conservative government on Saturday said that it would accept 10,000 Syrian refugees within one year by simplifying and speeding up the immigration application process.

Visa officers will no longer ask the applicants to prove that they are refugees through a United Nations refugee agency, but will instead "presume those fleeing the conflict meet the definition of a refugee, which will make processing faster," the Ministry of Immigration and Citizenship said in a statement.

Canada, India, Singapore and Egypt are "seriously" interested in buying France's two Mistral warships, a senior official has said, after Paris scrapped a deal to sell the vessels to Russia over the Ukraine crisis.

Louis Gautier, an official who advises the prime minister on defense and security matters, also told lawmakers this week that the cost of abandoning the agreement with Russia would be at least 1.1 billion euros ($1.2 billion) if the government did not find another buyer, according to a summary of his comments obtained by AFP Friday.

A former Canadian medical student facing charges for allegedly threatening to kill the dean and her daughter also planned to go on a suicidal rampage and kill 10 to 20 others, local media reported Wednesday.

The 30-year-old had told his psychiatrist, who in turn alerted police, of his plans in mid-August.

Canada fell into recession in the first half of the year, posting its weakest results since the 2008 global financial crisis, government data confirmed Tuesday.

The figures add to escalating fears about the health of the global economy, with world stock markets plunging farther on Tuesday as more gloomy evidence emerged of China's economic slowdown -- China has been a major engine of global growth.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Sunday called general elections for October 19, kicking off a campaign for a fourth straight term in power amid a sluggish economy.

Harper, in power since 2006, dissolved parliament after meeting with Governor General David Johnston, the representative of Queen Elizabeth II, Canada's nominal head of state in this Commonwealth country.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Thursday kicked off an two-day visit to Cuba aimed at relaunching full ties with Havana, against the backdrop of the thaw in U.S.-Cuban relations.

Steinmeier -- the first German foreign minister to visit the communist-ruled island nation since German reunification in 1990 -- signed a series of political and economic agreements on day one of his trip.