While the Conservative party beats the drums for an early election, some of the party's Ontario MPs returning from a week in their ridings aren't sounding as sure.

"I'll be taking the message back to Ottawa that I don't think we should be going to an election right now," Larry Miller, MP for the rural Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound riding, told a radio station on Friday.

While he thought it was better to wait until fall, by Sunday, Miller was toeing the party line.

Similarly, Pierre Poilievre, who represents Ottawa's Nepean-Carleton riding for the Tories, was hearing mixed messages from his constituents about triggering an election now or later.

But he's now reached this conclusion: "My constituents are telling me the Liberals have to go now."

CTV's Mike Duffy told Newsnet: "A lot of senior Conservative strategists are saying, 'Hold on here, maybe we'd be diving into an empty swimming pool.' But in public, everybody is saying, 'yeah, we'll go for it'."

One of those pushing for an early vote is John Reynolds, the Tories' national campaign chairman.

"We will have a vote and we will defeat the government and Stephen Harper will become prime minister of Canada," he said Sunday on CTV's Question Period.

The Liberals used the differing opinions to attack Harper for pushing ahead without listening to doubters in his own caucus.

"And the truth of the matter is, Mr. Harper doesn't like what MPs say and Canadians say, and he's going to ignore that," said Scott Reid, a spokesman for Prime Minister Paul Martin.

After a speech Sunday at an international fisheries conference in St. John's, Martin was pushing the message that billions in new program spending would be lost if his budget and government are defeated.

"I cannot believe that anyone would want to have an election and not see that budget passed," Martin told reporters.

Conservatives to meet

The Conservative caucus meets Monday night to decide on a course of action.

Duffy predicts Harper will have his hands full with his MPs. They'll be returning from a week in their home ridings, and will tell Harper their constituents are keen to see the government toppled.

The problem for Harper: those are incumbent MPs who already have strong support. In order to form a viable government, Harper needs to win new seats in Atlantic Canada, Ontario and in the West, he said.

"What Harper needs to do is take the temperature in areas of the country where Conservatives aren't popular when he makes his decision," Duffy said.

If the Tories do press on with a plan to defeat the government, that could make for a wild week in Parliament.

"They're willing to do anything -- beg, borrow steal -- in order to prevent an election, so we're prepared for just about anything in the House of Commons this week," said Conservative House Leader Jay Hill.

The process could start rolling Monday afternoon, when the House Public Accounts Committee meets at 3:30 p.m. EDT. The committee, which is dominated by opposition MPs, is expected to put forward a motion of non-confidence in the government.

The full house could possibly debate the committee motion and vote on it this week. But the rules on committee motions forming the basis of non-confidence votes are unclear.

The Conservatives will most likely have to wait until mid-month for either a budget vote or an opposition day which would allow them to introduce a non-confidence motion.

Even then, Harper may not have enough support to win on non-confidence motion, let alone a general election.

Sunday on Question Period, independent MP Chuck Cadman indicated he will likely vote with the Liberals and the NDP on a non-confidence issue.

If two other independents -- both former Liberals -- also stick with the government, it's unlikely that a Conservative-Bloc Quebecois motion could pass.

And there might be other moves in the works to deplete the opposition's strength. CTV's Ottawa bureau chief Robert Fife reported Sunday that Liberals have been talking to four Conservative MPs about accepting Senate seats in the coming weeks.

Even if Harper's parliamentary numbers hold up, senior party strategists and some MPs are examining disappointing stats from last week's opinion polls showing that public support for the Conservatives has receded slightly from the peak of a few weeks ago.

While there is uncertainty whether an election will take place this summer or early in the new year, candidates are still signing up.

Late Sunday, CTV News learned that TV broadcaster Peter Kent will run for the Conservatives in the Toronto riding of St. Paul's. That riding is currently held by Dr. Carolyn Bennett, who was first elected there in 1997. Bennett is the minister of state for public health.

The official announcement of Kent's foray into politics is expected Monday.

With a report from CTV's Roger Smith