With all signs pointing to the Liberal minority government's defeat sometime in May, Prime Minister Paul Martin is set to address the nation Thursday night to discuss the sponsorship program and the paralysis in Parliament.

PMO aides say Martin is not planning to resign, nor is he planning to call an election himself.

Martin's scheduling request follows an extraordinary move by the House Public Accounts Committee. The committee, dominated by opposition MPs, put forward a non-confidence motion Wednesday that could bring down the government as early as May 3.

Martin has not demanded airtime, and it's up to the networks to decide whether to carry it. (It will run at 7:45 pm ET on CTV Newsnet, followed by a response from Conservative Leader Stephen Harper.)

Such a politicized broadcast is common in the United States but rare in Canada. The unusual nature of the primetime spot has opened Martin up to further criticism.

"This isn't a national crisis," said Deputy Conservative Leader Peter MacKay. "This is a Paul Martin, Liberal Party crisis he is dealing with."

Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe called it "absolute panic.''

In the past 30 years, prime ministers have taken to the airwaves during times of national crisis: Pierre Trudeau to introduce wage and price controls; Brian Mulroney during the Meech Lake negotiations; and Jean Chretien on the eve of the 1995 Quebec referendum.

CTV's Mike Duffy says the need for such an address arose from Wednesday's caucus meeting, where Liberal MPs expressed frustration at not being able to get their side of the sponsorship story out to Canadians through the news media.

Duffy said Martin would use the televised address to suggest that the opposition is pre-judging the information arising from the sponsorship inquiry hearings in Montreal, and he will ask Canadians to await the results of a full report from Justice John Gomery in the fall.

With public opinion polls showing Conservative support on the rise in many parts of Canada, and Bloc Quebecois support even higher in Quebec, the opposition appears unwilling to wait that long.

Although Martin was the one to call the inquiry, and the revelations mostly involve officials from the government of his predecessor, Jean Chretien, Martin seems to be the one suffering from the fallout.

Liberal MP John McKay defended Martin in Wednesday's question period onslaught, and said Martin's politically "courageous" decision to hold the sponsorship inquiry may cost him his job.

If the Martin TV address doesn't do the trick, Liberal strategists have a "Plan B" in the works.

Senior Liberal party strategists, including Trudeau-era cabinet minister Ed Lumley, met last weekend to discuss getting former prime minister Jean Chretien to speak publicly again on the sponsorship scandal. It was suggested Chretien admit no wrongdoing but accept responsibility for what happened under his watch.

Chretien is reported to have heard the proposal and hasn't ruled it out.