Federal Liberals rallied around their leader during a meeting of the party faithful in Montreal.

Just blocks from where Stephane Dion was elected party head, they came together to show their support for a leader who has had a relatively tumultuous first year at the helm.

"You're going to find two or three people here this weekend who have concerns," said Nova Scotia Liberal Party President Derek Wells.

"But is the party united behind Mr. Dion? Absolutely."

Dion has had a rough year dealing with constant questions about his leadership abilities, crucial by-election losses in Quebec, and low poll numbers that have forced him to prop up the Conservatives in order to avoid heading to the ballot box.

However, Dion vowed to The Canadian Press that the coming year will be a different story.

"2008 will be another ball game," he said. "You cannot keep alive forever a government who wants to die."

In Montreal, he was even talking about a possible spring election.

He said Liberal MPs have been forced to abstain from key confidence votes, allowing the Conservatives to push through key legislation, because Canadians were opposed to the idea of a third election in three years.

Now, he said, Canadians have had enough of Prime Minister Stephen Harper and are ready for a change.

Dion suggested he may act on that sentiment -- possibly forcing an election before the Conservatives release their budget -- widely expected to offer up further tax cuts. Recent survey numbers show Conservative support has dropped while the Liberals have been creeping up in the polls -- another factor that may be contributing to Dion's apparent confidence.

"I think each week I feel that (the public mood is) warmer about the idea that maybe we should revisit the kind of choice we have made in (the) 2006 (federal election). And we'll see if it's still the case in February or in March or in April," he told CP.

But Dion warned Liberals not to overly politicize the events surrounding the Mulroney-Schreiber affair. When one Liberal suggested at the conference that the scandal was "a gift" for their party, Dion interrupted to say that it was no such thing.

He said the issue is not so much about partisanship as it is about protecting Canada's democracy.

"It's good to do that. It's the right thing to do, including for Mr. Mulroney," he said.

Despite Dion's renewed vigor, La Presse bureau chief Joel-Denis Bellavance told CTV Newsnet on Saturday that the leader's popularity in Quebec remains low and he continues to face challenges in the rest of the country.

"I think the Liberals have picked up a bit of support in Ontario," he said. "But the problem for Mr. Dion is that his English is not as good as it should be to sell his message to his main base, which is in Ontario."

Bellavance said he thinks it's unlikely that Canadians are ready for an election now as opposed to two months ago.

He believes there are currently two schools of thought within the Liberal party. In one, Dion supporters are rallying for an election so their leader can demonstrate "what he's got in his stomach."

"The other camp is saying let's go now so we can have an election and get rid of Stephane Dion. So there is a convergence of views within the Liberals that they have to go for an election as soon as possible, but not for the same reasons," said Bellavance.

Dion acknowledged that Opposition leaders are rarely popular, and said he knows his battle to become prime minister won't be an easy one.

"The ones who succeed -- and I intend to be one of them -- have never had a free lunch, never."

He pointed out that Harper was the least popular choice among Canadians as prime minister before he won in 2006.

"If you think it will be easy, you will be discouraged," he said. "I knew it would not be easy. But I know that the ones who succeeded, it's because they had the conviction and they were focusing on the final result and it's what I will do, it's what I'm doing."

Dion said the Liberals have been laying the groundwork throughout 2007 for an election, and will be ready when the time comes.

He refused to accept the possibility he could lose -- a result that many believe would result in his immediate ejection from the leader's seat.

With files from The Canadian Press