The Liberal Party doesn't want an election this spring, but it's ready if forced into one, says the party's Quebec lieutenant.

"I hope we're not close to an election because we want the truth and the whole truth in this sponsorship affair; and I think if the opposition wants to be opportunistic and prevent people from getting the truth, it would be sad," Transport Minister Jean Lapierre told reporters on Saturday.

Many Tories are waiting for the right moment to pounce on the Liberal's minority government, which is reeling over damaging testimony from the sponsorship inquiry headed by Justice John Gomery.

Some are predicting that moment will come in mid-May, with a mid to late-June vote.

"The public will tell us," senior Conservative MP John Reynolds told CTV News. "We're listening to them, and they are hearing more testimony every day. And at some point, they'll say, 'pull the plug, drain the swamp, let's go'."

NDP Leader Jack Layton say this about an election: "Our preference is for Parliament to work. If we get a sense that Canadians want to pass judgment on a corrupt government, then we'll respond to that."

Lapierre, a Montreal MP, told reporters during a break at a meeting of the Quebec wing of federal Liberals, "If there is an election, then (party members will) be ready on the ground and in a fighting mood."

Prime Minister Paul Martin spent Saturday at his 24 Sussex Drive residence in Ottawa, where he huddled with advisors to plan the unveiling of his foreign policy review next week, among other things.

One of those other things could be testimony by Montreal advertising executive Claude Boulay at the Gomery inquiry in Montreal.

The Conservative opposition spent considerable time in Parliament's question period this past week trying to determine whether Martin ever had talked contracts over lunch with Boulay, who is president of Group Everest -- a firm which benefited greatly from sponsorship contracts.

Although Boulay had worked on Martin's 1990 Liberal leadership bid and invited him to his 50th birthday party, the prime minister insisted Boulay was only an acquaintance -- not a friend.

Election not popular

The current Ipsos-Reid poll done for CTV and The Globe and Mail shows that the Conservative Party under Stephen Harper might do well were an election held today.

But the pressing question remains: Who exactly wants a vote right now?

The poll, done between April 10-12, has encouraging news for the Tories. It suggests that if Canadians went to the polls today, 36 per cent of decided voters would vote Conservative.

The Liberal Party would get 27 per cent support, the New Democratic Party 15 and the Green Party seven. The Bloc Quebecois, meanwhile, would take 41 per cent support in Quebec.

But while some people may be anxious to see a quick trip to the polls, not everyone is necessarily onside with the idea.

Ipsos-Reid found that only 11 per cent of decided voters favour having an election right now.

But almost one-fifth of Canadians were opposed to that notion. When asked, "When should we have an election," 19 per cent answered, "At no time in the near future."

One factor influencing voters is the ongoing Gomery inquiry into the federal sponsorship scandal.

Ipsos-Reid found 53 per cent of those surveyed think any election should only come "after Mr. Justice Gomery releases his final report in October."

Another 14 per cent said they'd prefer to wait until the Gomery inquiry wraps up its testimony in late May.

With a report from CTV's Rosemary Thompson and files from The Canadian Press