Canada's main opposition party has accused Prime Minister Stephen Harper of plagiarising a speech by former Australian Prime Minister John Howard that urged the country to join the US-led war in Iraq.
The Liberals have released transcripts and video of speeches delivered by Howard on March 18, 2003, and one by Harper two days later in the Canadian Parliament when he was the opposition leader.
Opposition Liberal Foreign Affairs Critic Bob Rae says nearly half of the speech Harper delivered calling for Canadian troops to be sent to Iraq was a word-for-word repeat of the speech by Howard.
"How does a leader in Canada's parliament, on such a crucial issue, end up giving almost the exact same speech as another country's leader, let alone a leader who was a key member of George W Bush's coalition of the willing?" Mr Rae said.
"Liberals have been arguing for over two years that Canada is losing its independent voice in foreign affairs under Mr Harper."
Canada's Liberal government at the time turned down Washington's request to send troops.
Harper triggered an early election last month in a bid to bolster his party's grip on power in an October 14 vote.
