(Adds details; updates prices) Aug 16 (Reuters) - Canada’s main stock index futures and the Canadian dollar slipped on Monday after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called an early election for Sept. 20 as widely expected. In calling for the snap election on Sunday, Trudeau said he needed a new mandate to ensure voters approved of his Liberal government’s plan to recover from the pandemic. September futures on the S&P/TSX index slipped 0.4% by 7:35 a.m. ET, while the Canadian dollar traded down at 1.25510 to the greenback. “Usually, elections in Canada only cause a brief blip on the market but until they are over, investors might nonetheless approach CAD with more caution,” Commerzbank analysts wrote in a note. Some analysts said the Canadian dollar was also tracking weakness in G10 currencies on the back of disappointing monthly activity data from China. The data dented demand for risky equities globally, with the S&P 500 futures down 0.3%. With polls showing the governing Liberal Party well ahead of the official opposition, investors have been looking for signs Canada’s next government could reduce historic levels of fiscal spending to support the economy during the pandemic, with activity already on track to make a full recovery. Bets of a steady economic rebound have propelled the Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index to record highs in the past few weeks, led by the energy and financial sectors, which have gained more than 25% so far this year. The S&P/TSX index ended little changed on Friday, but still logged its fourth straight week of gains. OTHER TOP STORIES Canada said on Friday it will soon require all federal public servants and many other workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19, as it looks to boost its already world-leading inoculation rate amid a Delta variant-driven surge in new infections. PharmaCann, one of the 10 original cannabis licensees in New York, has confidentially filed for an initial public offering that could value it at well over $1 billion, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. ANALYST RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS Boardwalk REIT: RBC raises target price to C$54 from C$44 Farmers Edge: National Bank of Canada cuts to sector perform from outperform Pretium Resources: National Bank of Canada ups to outperform from sector perform COMMODITIES AT 7:35 a.m. ET Gold futures: $1,775; -0.03% US crude: $67.19; -1.83% Brent crude: $69.42; -1.66% U.S. ECONOMIC DATA DUE ON MONDAY 0830 NY Fed Manufacturing for Aug: Expected 29.00; Prior 43.00 CANADIAN ECONOMIC DATA DUE ON MONDAY 0830 Manufacturing sales mm for June: Expected 2.5%; Prior -0.6% 0830 Wholesale trade mm for June: Expected -2.0%; Prior 0.5% 1030 BoC senior loan officer survey for Q2: Prior -14.95% FOR CANADIAN MARKETS NEWS, CLICK ON CODES: TSX market report Canadian dollar and bonds report Reuters global stocks poll for Canada Canadian markets directory $1=C$0.7967 Reporting by Sagarika Jaisinghani and Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Sriraj Kalluvila Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.