Harper and Flaherty are set to end the coalition for good with their new budget.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced on Friday January 9th, that the new budget will be big, it will be comprehensive, and it will be actionable over the next 3 – 5 years. In what is said to be the largest budget Canadians have seen in a long time, it will cover a large scope of economic challenges and opportunities that are forecasted for Canada. With the announcement of over 34,000 jobs lost in December alone, this budget better be a hell of a lot better than their last budget that nearly toppled the Conservative Government.

Now that Harper is no longer wavering on whether or not he thinks the economy is undergoing a crisis, this new budget is expected to not only provide measures that will ease the burden of 2009’s predicted recession but to also determine whether or not he will stay in power. If the budget is seen to not provide the necessary solutions for the citizens of Canada, will the coalition come back to life by the opposition parties voting “no” on the budget?

In all likelihood, the coalition is not going to happen. New Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff still does not seem too keen on pursuing the coalition. On top of that, NDP leader Jack Layton’s high expectations of the coalition before the prorogation period had a negative impact on his reputation and he might not be so quick to jump on the coalition bandwagon for another ride.

Given both leaders’ positions, a coalition does not seem plausible. Unless they change their minds, if the upcoming budget is truly horrendous, it will lead to a new election instead of a coalition as the rejected budget would dissolve parliament. This puts the Liberals, NDP, and Bloq in a very sticky situation. In recent polls that made headlines across Canada, many Canadians are still showing support for the Conservative Party – enough that if a new election is held, they would likely remain in power and may gain enough seats for a majority. This means that if the opposition parties vote “no” on the budget, a new election may lead us right back to where we started. So even if the budget is not great, the other parties may vote “yes” anyways just to protect their current seats in parliament.

All is not lost though, as Ignatieff has proposed a list of three major things he is looking for in the new budget – all three of which will likely be there. This will help ensure that only a sound economic budget will be utilized for Canada. Ignatieff is looking for tax relief for low and middle-income Canadians, infrastructure projects that will feed money into the economy and create jobs, investments in productivity and competitiveness that will ensure that industries (such as the auto industry) will be able to sustain themselves after the stimulus package is depleted.

What does all of this mean for us Canadian voters? Well, it seems like unless the budget is not sufficient, it will pass and the Conservatives will remain in power. But then again, you never know what the other parties have up their sleeves. If the budget is rejected, the coalition is still in existence and despite the leaders’ supposed positions, they still may ask to take over the government. Michaelle Jean will then be called upon do decide whether an election should be called or if the Liberals and NDP could adequately (and democratically of course) act as our governing body. Either way, regardless of what happens with the budget, I see an election much sooner than most Canadians expect.

Related posts:

1. Harper Talks Budget and Stimulus Plan Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced some preliminary information on the...
2. Ignatieff Blames Harper for Upcoming Budget Deficit Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff lashed out at Harper for the...
3. Liberals Support Conservative Budget Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff announced today that he would support...
4. Harper Bites Liberal Budget Bullet MPs voted 214 to 84 in favour of the Liberal...
5. House of Commons Approves Conservative Budget The budget was approved today by a 211 – 91...

Tags: Budget, coalition, Economy, Flaherty, harper

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 11th, 2009 at 3:16 am and is filed under Economy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.