The Liberal party appears to be gearing up to replace Jean Chrtien as leader months before he steps down as prime minister in early 2004.

On Saturday, the management committee of the party's executive decided a leadership convention should be held between Nov. 4 and Dec. 6 of 2003.

It's only a recommendation, but the party's executive is expected to agree to the proposal when it meets next month.

If approved, Canada could wind up with a prime minister who is not the leader of his own party for several months something that hasn't happened since Louis St. Laurent replaced MacKenzie King in 1948.

"This has the appearance of the (Liberal party) executive thumbing their noses at the prime minister," said David Mitchell, a political science professor at the University of Ottawa.

He thinks that holding an early convention could easily leave Chrtien a lame duck leader for several months.

"We're creating a situation that is very, very awkward," Mitchell said. "It's far from elegant, and it creates the potential quite frankly for confusion about who's in charge."

But senior members of the Liberal party disagreed, saying the prime minister will be able to lead effectively until he steps down at his own chosen time February 2004.

"Nobody is suggesting for a second that he is being pushed, or being shown the door," said party president Stephen LeDrew.

Chrtien announced last month that he would step down in February 2004, and said he wants his replacement chosen then.

LeDrew said Chrtien would still be the party leader until he retires, leaving the new leader sitting on the sidelines for at least a couple of months.

The Liberals have been dogged by concerns about the leadership for months. Chrtien's announcement created a new set of divisive issues, such as whether to go ahead with a planned convention in February 2003.

Supporters of former finance minister Paul Martin, the front-runner in the race to replace Chrtien, were reluctant to wait a year and a half before a convention.

LeDrew said the committee wanted to find a compromise. "There's people across the country who wanted it a lot later, people across the country who wanted it a lot earlier," he said.

"This is the best solution for the party."