Push has come to shove for Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

With a confidence vote set for Monday, Harper faces the possibility of a parliamentary defeat that would send the country toward a new election or give his opponents a chance to form a coalition government.

So the Conservative prime minister was taking his case to the Canadian public Wednesday night, and a cabinet minister suggested he would take the unprecedented step of asking Governor General Michaelle Jean to suspend Parliament until next month -- giving him needed time to develop a stimulus package.

Harper said his Conservative party is pursuing all legal means of stopping the opposition from toppling his minority government and forming a coalition government.

Harper's Conservative Party was re-elected Oct. 14 with a strengthened minority government, but the opposition has united to topple Harper because he has failed to present a plan for dealing with the global economic crisis.

The move against him was also fueled by a proposal to scrap public subsidies for political parties, something the opposition groups rely on more than the Conservatives. Analysts have called the proposal a colossal mistake that unified the opposition against him.

Although that proposal was scrapped, the opposition has continued to seek his ouster by saying he had lost the trust and confidence of the 308 seat Parliament.

Jean, who is the representative of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II as head of state, holds a mostly ceremonial position. But it will be her decision on whether to suspend Parliament.

Jean cut short a European trip and was scheduled to be back in Canada Wednesday afternoon to deal with the political crisis which could force the second national election in two months, lead to an opposition coalition taking power or result in a suspension of Parliament until next month.

A governor general has never been asked to suspend Parliament to delay an ouster vote when it was clear the government didn't have the confidence of a majority of legislators.

"There is no precedent whatsoever in Canada and probably in the Commonwealth," Constitutional scholar and Queen's University political scientist Ned Franks said. "We are in uncharted territory."

Conservative Immigration Minister Jason Kenney said a suspension of Parliament until next month is the most sensible alternative available to Jean and the government.

"I'm sure most Canadians agree that a time-out for Parliament right now is probably the best thing," Kenney said.

If Jean refuses his request to suspend Parliament he could step down or wait to until he's defeated in Monday's confidence vote, Franks said.

The Liberals, New Democrats and Bloc Quebecois, which together control a majority of Parliament's 308 seats, signed a pact agreeing to vote this coming Monday to oust Harper's minority government and setting the structure for their proposed coalition government.

The Conservatives are pursuing a public relations campaign against the opposition that includes rallies across the country and radio ads saying power should be earned and not taken.

No Canadian government has ever been ousted in a confidence vote and replaced by an opposition coalition without an intervening election.

Jean said she had received a letter from the three opposition parties formally advising her of their plan to topple Harper and urging her to let them form a coalition government.