Prime Minister Stephen Harper says the government needs to spend quickly and efficiently to stem the tide of the economic crisis while at the same time avoiding a long-term budget deficit.
Speaking in Halifax after a meeting with economic leaders, Harper promised a budget on Jan. 27 that would meet both the short- and long-term needs of the Canadian economy.
"It's a broad consensus in the country, that we need, with our G20 partners, to engage in significant deficit spending now to stimulate our economy but that that cannot become permanent," Harper told reporters.
When asked if he would meet the budget demands of the opposition parties in order to ensure the survival of his government, Harper said the Conservatives "will come forward with a budget that we believe is in the interests of the economy and will carry the overall judgment of the Canadian people."
Yesterday, Liberal Party Leader Michael Ignatieff said the budget would have to meet their criteria in order for him to support it: that it helps the most vulnerable Canadians and both saves and creates new jobs.
Speaking on a break from today's Liberal caucus meeting in Ottawa, Ignatieff said he is concerned that broad-based tax cuts to the middle class would "pitch the country into a deficit."
However, he would not confirm if he has plans to vote against the budget and topple the Harper government, saying he needs to first learn of the budget's contents.
"Critical to the Liberal view of this budget is fiscal prudence, is fiscal responsibility," he said. "I think every Canadian knows we have to go into temporary deficit to dig this car out of the ditch. But we don't want to tie to the car something to the bumper that drags behind it for another 10 years."
When reporters' questions turned to Barack Obama, both Ignatieff and Harper said they looked forward to working with the incoming U.S. president.
Harper called Obama's election "a hugely symbolic and important page in American history," and applauded the president-elect's decision to make his first foreign trip to Canada.
Harper also promised that as he tackles the considerable challenges facing his government, Obama would have "no better friend, neighbour and ally than Canada and Canadians."
But Harper also had tough words for Obama on the economic crisis.
He called on Obama to implement a strong economic stimulus package and stabilize the shaky U.S. financial sector, moves that Harper said were necessary for easing the global credit crunch.
Shortly after Harper spoke, Ignatieff said Harper has a lot of work to do to rebuild Canadian-American relations, especially on key issues such as energy, the environment and northern sovereignty.
