By Jerad Gallinger

After a weekend of negotiation and conjecture, Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion and New Democratic Party Leader Jack Layton this afternoon signed an accord pledging to work together in a coalition government until June 30, 2011, should the Conservative government be defeated in a vote of non-confidence. Bloc Québécois Leader Gilles Duceppe also signed on, agreeing that his party will support the coalition until at least 2010. Under the accord, Stéphane Dion would be prime minister until the Liberal Party picks its new leader in May 2009; the new cabinet would consist of twenty-four members, including six New Democrats, with a Liberal finance minister. Click here to discuss the coalition deal and the unprecedented political drama engulfing the nation.