With just days to go until the Liberal government introduces its much-anticipated federal budget, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre won’t say whether his party will strike down the legislation — instead insisting he needs to read the document before deciding.
“I don’t have telepathic powers to tell you what’s in it,” Poilievre said in an interview on Rosemary Barton Live airing Sunday morning. “If it were to bring down the cost of living — an affordable budget for an affordable living is something that I support.”
The Conservatives have laid out a few key demands to the Liberals for the budget, including scrapping the industrial carbon tax and keeping the deficit below $42 billion.
When asked by host Rosemary Barton why he would accept a deficit as high as $42 billion, Poilievre said that “it’s not OK, but it is the disastrous state we’re in after 10 years of Liberal government.”
“I would like a zero deficit, but the Liberals have put us in this mess, and I work with what I got.”
Sources say the Conservative leadership does not want an election right now but is opposed to voting for the upcoming budget. The sources say that the likeliest path would be for some of the NDP’s seven MPs to abstain from voting, allowing the budget to pass.
When pressed by Barton that his comments mean he won’t support the budget, Poilievre reiterated that he hasn’t yet seen the document and wants the Liberals to introduce a budget that will make life more affordable for Canadians.
“If the government were in a collaborative mode, recognizing they only have a minority, they would accept my ideas for an affordable budget for an affordable Canada,” he added.
The Liberal government will need the co-operation of at least one other party in order to pass the budget, which is being tabled on Tuesday in the House of Commons.
Because the budget is a confidence vote, Canadians could be facing another federal election if it doesn’t pass.
CBC News chief political correspondent Rosemary Barton speaks with Pierre Poilievre, the leader of the Official Opposition, about the disintegrating trade talks between Canada and the U.S.
Prime Minister Mark Carney signalled on Saturday he’s prepared to fight an election over the budget should it come to that. He also said he’s “100 per cent confident that this budget is the right budget for this country — at this moment.”
“This is not a game. This is a critical moment in the global economy — or an important moment in the global economy. It’s a critical one for our country,” Carney said before boarding the plane to return home from the APEC summit in South Korea.
NDP also withholding budget judgment
The Liberals could solve this political puzzle if the NDP supports their budget or abstains from the vote. But like Poilievre, interim NDP Leader Don Davies told Barton on Friday he needs to read the document before making a decision.
“We have said that we want a budget that invests. Cutting good, family-sustaining jobs that exist in the public service at a time when we want to create jobs doesn’t seem right to us. But we’re going to see where the cuts are,” Davies said.
When asked whether he wants an election, Davies said, “Personally, I don’t think Canadians want an election … and frankly, given the serious issues facing us, I’m not sure that an election is good for the country at the moment.”
Both the Conservative and NDP caucuses are grappling with what to do about the budget and whether they want to be part of an effort to trigger an election by voting it down, multiple sources told CBC News earlier this week.
The Conservatives have had conversations with the NDP and the Bloc Québécois about how to approach the vote, according to sources. CBC News is not naming the sources because they were not authorized to speak publicly about internal discussions.
One senior NDP source and two Conservative sources say the path believed to be most likely is that some of the NDP’s seven MPs could abstain from voting, allowing the budget to pass.
When asked if everyone has to vote the same way in his caucus, Davies told Barton that “on confidence measures, that’s the rule.” However, the interim NDP leader said abstentions are allowed.
“Our caucus is tight, we’re united. We’ve had a lot of discussions about the upcoming budget, and we’re going to be meeting on Tuesday night and Wednesday and discussing this budget together. And we’ll make that decision together.”
The full interview with Poilievre will air on Rosemary Barton Live, Sunday at 10 a.m. ET.
