(Adds quotes, reaction, 2006 vote result)

By Randall Palmer

OTTAWA, April 13 (Reuters) - Canada's main opposition Liberal Party sealed a deal with the Green Party on Friday intended to make it easier for Green leader Elizabeth May to win the party's first seat in Parliament.

Speaking at a joint news conference with May, Liberal leader Stephane Dion said the Liberals would not run a candidate in the Nova Scotia district where May intends to run in the next election.

It still will be a tough battle for May as she will be running against Foreign Minister Peter MacKay, who represents the ruling Conservatives in the constituency. The Liberals took third place in the last federal election, behind the Conservatives and the left-wing New Democratic Party.

"This is not a large-scale merger of the parties. This is an extraordinary expression of putting progress, of putting principle, ahead of politics as usual," May said, although she left the door open to similar agreements at the local level.

But the deal also appeared to go beyond mere courtesy, as May and Dion each expressed admiration for the other and May went as far as to suggest she backed Dion for prime minister.

"We like each other. We respect each other, and the reason that I know that I see in Mr. Dion a true leader for this country (is) because I worked with him," May said, recounting how he stared down the Americans and Russians in environmental talks when he was Liberal environment minister.

Dion, who won the leadership of the Liberal Party in December by positioning himself as the party's green candidate, said he would not make such a deal for anyone but May.

"It's very something exceptional for an exceptional lady," said Dion, speaking in Stellarton, Nova Scotia, where May will run. The Greens will not run a candidate against Dion in Montreal, but his seat had been seen as safe anyway.

MacKay's spokesman, Dan Dugas, said Dion was going back on a pledge to run candidates in every district across Canada.

"Stephane Dion said three weeks ago that he would not deny a nomination to a member of his own party in any riding. This flip-flop proves Dion's own admission that he finds it difficult to set priorities," Dugas said.

The leftist New Democrats, the third largest party in Parliament, dismissed the agreement as "some backroom deal", and pledged not to pull their candidate in any constituency despite quiet approaches from the Greens.

The Greens have sometimes polled at above 10 percent in Canada, not far below the New Democrats. They compete for some of the same voters -- especially those who want tougher action on climate change even if it might be costly to the economy.

In the 2006 election, the New Democratic candidate came in second with 13,861 votes, behind MacKay's 17,134 votes.

The Liberals garnered 10,349 votes, and the Greens trailed with just 671.

The next general election has not been scheduled, but the Conservatives only have a minority in Parliament and an election could happen at any time. One is widely expected by next year, if not sometime in 2007.

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