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TORONTO -- Geri Halliwell might have been out of the country and unable to vote in yesterday's general election in England, but she showed her support for Labour's Tony Blair in other ways.

"Everyone knows my vote," said the former Ginger Spice, 28, yesterday as she ate lunch (salmon, tuna, broccoli, mashed potatoes and cucumbers, if those who've noticed her newly svelte figure must know) on the pool deck of her Toronto hotel.

Halliwell is in Toronto to promote her second solo record, Scream If You Wanna Go Faster, and sing her hit single, a cover of It's Raining Men, at Fashion Cares tomorrow night.

"Tony Blair asked me to be in his election campaign. That was my way of lending support. I don't know a lot about politics, never claimed to. My father was big into it, so therefore leaders interest me, more than anything.

"As days go by, political parties are blending into one in England, so I'm more interested in whether I trust that leader fundamentally ... I met (Blair) at a dinner -- it was a Pride Of Britain dinner -- and we spent time talking then. He's not the average megalomaniac."

It's Raining Men was the No. 1 single in Britain, and this week is 18th and rising on the Canadian SoundScan singles chart.

Of the Fashion Cares AIDS fundraiser, now in its 15th year, Halliwell admitted, "I don't know that much about it. But I know that it seems like it's a foundation full of consciousness, and I think the quality of the giving is good."

Halliwell said she was already "an AIDS monitoress" when she was 13 years old at her all-girls school.

"That would have been, like, 15 years ago, and we were only becoming aware of AIDS. It was a very conservative girls school and I decided, at the age of 13, 'I think I'd like to put forward that our next charity would go to fight AIDS.'

"And I went, ''Cause you know we're all going to be having sex one day.' And the whole place was like, 'Ooh...' "

That anecdote is about the most outrageous thing Halliwell had to say yesterday.

Much more subdued than in previous interviews, she arrived about an hour and 15 minutes late for her scheduled chat with The Sun.

The plan had been to have "afternoon tea" together, but since she's apparently off sugar and flour, that wasn't happening.

Instead, she offered up her diet drink while she tucked into a very healthy-looking lunch with one of her "best mates" Alice, also seated at the table. Nearby were two publicists, a makeup artist and a security guard.

"I'll have a nice cup of tea, though -- love a cup of tea, Earl Grey," said Halliwell, who admits she occasionally allows herself to indulge in sweets. "Sometimes. I try not to. I'm like most girls or human beings. But it doesn't really agree with me -- sugar and white flour. I try and have a cleaner diet."

Halliwell just shot a video for the second single from Scream If You Wanna Go Faster, the title track.

"It's kind of like Lara Croft meets Blondie," said Halliwell, who plays two characters in the video. "The Lara Croft character, she represents spirit and soul, a little more organic, more playful. Then the (Blondie) character on stage, she's a lot more aggressive and sexual and represents ego."

Film role?

Halliwell, who eventually lit up a Silk Cut and sipped some peppermint tea after her meal, said she also is looking at acting in a film, but couldn't talk about the part yet.

In the meantime, she claimed she would try to see Toronto while she was in town. She arrived Wednesday night and leaves on Sunday.

"I think there's very good energy here in Toronto," she said. "Fantastic energy. The minute we got here, we went, 'Oh, cool.' "

Halliwell, who is currently single, once jokingly clamoured for "a nice Canadian man to fertilize" her eggs at the MuchMusic Video Awards a few years back. She now says she would consider a relationship with someone from Canada.

"I've always got to try to keep an open mind. You can't close yourself off. And I think Canadians are a good breed of people. I think you've got the best of both worlds. I think you have culture, you're cosmopolitan, you're enterprising. It seems like you've taken all the best bits from other countries.

"From an outsider's perspective, people seem very open, non-judgmental, nice, relaxed, but then you're still out there doing it. Balanced. I think you're the most balanced country I ever met. So maybe Canada is an example to us all."

Former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell no wallflower