MONTREAL, Canada, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- Stephane Dion, a former federal environment minister and staunch federalist from the French-speaking Quebec province, was elected on Saturday as new leader of Canada's opposition Liberal Party.

    Dion, 51, emerged a winner from an original mere fourth position among the eight contenders, which also include former Harvard academic Michael Ignatieff, former Ontario Premier Bob Raeand former Ontario Education Minister Gerard Kennedy. Dion garnered the support of 2,541 voters, or 57.4 percent, out of a total 4,605 valid ballots, beating his last rivalry Ignatieff, who captured only 2,084 votes.

    In a speech after the result came out, Dion vowed to lead the party to defeat the ruling Conservatives under Prime Minister Stephen Harper, while pledging to be a cooperative opposition leader.

    "I'm so happy and proud of my party. I'm so pleased to serve my party," he told reporters immediately after the results were announced.

    A former political science professor at Montreal University in 1990s, Dion captured the attention of former Prime Minister Jean Chretien with his hard-line support for federalism during the separatist movement of Quebec province. He was later to enter the federal government, first as Intergovernmental affairs minister under Chretien in 1996 and later as environment minister under Paul Martin in 2004.

    Dion has been advocating the three-pillar approach in the leadership candidacy, which focuses on social justice, economic prosperity, and environmental sustainability.

    The Liberals, who governed Canada for most part of the 20th century and often dubbed as the country's "natural governing party", lost power to the Conservatives in the January election after 13 years in office.

    Former Prime Minister and party leader Paul Martin resigned his post in March this year, leaving the vacuum up to now.

    The party is now seeking to regain power in an election widely expected next year. But a recent poll put Dion in a difficult position to beat current Prime Minister Stephen Harper. According to the poll, with Dion as the leader, the Liberals would only win 27 percent support if an election were held now, compared with 35 percent for the Conservatives.

    Analysts say Canadians still need time to forget and forgive the Liberals, whose image has been seriously hurt by a sponsorship scandal, in which party officials are accused of getting more than 1 million Canadian dollars (876,800 U.S. dollars) in kickbacks for government contracts about an anti-separatist advertising scheme.