MONTREAL - It was all about the green on the Quebec campaign trail Sunday as Premier Jean Charest and Parti Quebecois Leader Andre Boisclair took part in Montreal's annual St. Patrick's Day parade.
But with several prominent federal politicians joining the festivities, talk quickly turned from shamrocks to Monday's budget.
Public Works Minister Michael Fortier even did his best to play the leprechaun, hinting there was a pot of gold in store for the province's federalist forces.
"Things will go well on Monday,'' Fortier told Charest just before the parade began.
Fortier later told reporters that Quebecers can expect more money from Ottawa.
"I think you can be confident that we will certainly meet our undertaking to address fiscal imbalance,'' Fortier said. "I think you'll be pleased with the results.''
Quebecers head to the polls exactly one week after Finance Minister Jim Flaherty's budget is tabled and the document could play a deciding role in the provincial campaign.
Monday's budget is expected to contain around $3.5 billion in annual transfers to the provinces, with Quebec slated to received the bulk of the new money.
Polls suggest the PQ, the Liberals and the Action democratique du Quebec are in a statistical dead heat, and each party will be seeking an extra boost during the home stretch of the campaign.
Charest, whose campaign has been lacklustre to date, has the most to gain from Ottawa's generosity. However, the premier's close ties to the federal Conservatives have been fodder for his rivals.
Anticipating attacks from the sovereigntist camp, Charest tried to downplay his relationship with the federal Conservatives on Sunday.
"I don't expect everything to be solved in a single budget,'' Charest said. "The federal government will present its proposals and we'll see where it goes.''
But Fortier admitted he was cheering for Charest and his team.
"I have been working with Mr. Charest's ministers for a year,'' he said. "These are people who work very well for the welfare of Quebec taxpayers.''
Liberal Leader Stephane Dion, who also took part in the parade, resisted weighing in on the impact the budget could have on Charest's campaign.
"Mr. Charest is a very good politician,'' he said, before offering his support in a quasi-limerick.
"I'm a Liberal and I vote Liberal and I support the Liberal party and I invite all Liberals to work hard for the Liberals.''
PQ wants $3.9B in budget
Boisclair, for his part, set the bar high for what Ottawa should offer, pegging the fiscal imbalance -- the difference between what Quebecers pay in federal taxes and what they get back -- at $3.9 billion.
"The federal government has access to a wide range of taxes, the challenge is to correct that,'' Boisclair said.
"We want more than a monetary solution, we want a fiscal solution.''
The budget represents an especially critical moment for ADQ Leader Mario Dumont's campaign.
Dumont has so far avoided providing spending estimates for his campaign promises, choosing to wait and see what the budget offers.
Duceppe, who joined Boisclair for the parade, spent the weekend doing his best to paint the image of a Dumont-Harper conservative "axis.''
The Bloc leader accused Dumont of supporting the budget before even having seen the document.
"What position of power will Quebec have with a leader who puts his future in the hands of Stephen Harper,'' Duceppe told a weekend rally of PQ supporters.
"Quebecers will think twice before giving their vote to a disciple of Stephen Harper.''
Dumont countered on Sunday by attacking Boisclair for suddenly taking the PQ on a sharp left turn.
"This was the guy (Boisclair) who said ... I'm going to take the PQ to another place, I'm going to modernize it,'' Dumont told reporters while campaigning in western Quebec. "Yesterday, he slips back to a left that we have already known in the PQ.''
Dumont is expected to pledge $20 million in cultural spending on Tuesday, The Canadian Press has learned.
Only one paragraph of the ADQ's platform references cultural investments, and the topic has been absent from Dumont's discourse during the campaign.
However, during a one-hour weekend interview with The Canadian Press, the ADQ Leader said that contrary to what most people believe, he is sensitive to the arts.
"We want to invest more in culture, with real care for our creative artists,'' Dumont said.
The ADQ pledge is double the amount promised in the PQ platform.
The cost of the Liberals' cultural pledges is not specific, except for a $5-million commitment to libraries.
