"Part of the reason for the (special caucus) meeting today was just to impress on everybody that we have to start to prepare ourselves for the possibility of government," [Hugh McFadyen] told reporters outside the meeting. The NDP holds a majority of seats, with 36, and there are two Liberal members in the legislature.

At the same time crime "is getting worse rather than better," McFadyen said, and the inquiry into Brian Sinclair's death in a Winnipeg hospital emergency waiting room looms.

McFadyen said the potential earlier timeline for a provincial vote adds urgency to the need to resolve the "NDP election finance scandal" and Election Manitoba's role "in helping to cover it up."