At his first Liberal caucus meeting as leader, Michael Ignatieff outlined three conditions he wants the Conservatives to meet in order to secure his party's support for the Jan. 27 budget vote.
"This budget has three simple tests that it must pass," he told Liberal MPs and senators on Sunday.
"Will it protect the most vulnerable? Will it save jobs? And most important of all, will it create the jobs of tomorrow?"
Before the meeting, Ignatieff lay the blame for the projected multi-billion-dollar budget deficit on Prime Minister Stephen Harper, saying he "spent us down to the red line" after years of Liberal surpluses.
Ignatieff said Harper must take sole responsibility for a budget deficit that is expected to reach as high as $40 billion.
The Conservatives have hinted the federal budget will run a high deficit to accommodate economic stimulus measures.
"After a decade of Liberal surpluses, where are we? We're facing a deficit projection of $40 billion," Ignatieff said. "This deficit is squarely Mr. Harper's responsibility. He spent us down to the red line in the good times and so we face the hard times as citizens of a great country with the cupboard bare."
Ignatieff didn't mention a coalition former liberal leader Stephane Dion struck with the NDP in December.
The three parties formed the proposed coalition after the Conservatives delivered a poorly received economic update in November. Critics said it did not contain plans for digging Canada out of the economic crisis.
"When the time comes, whether it be now or later, we cannot fail our fellow citizens," Ignatieff said on Sunday.
Ignatieff and other party officials have spent January touring the country, conducting town hall-style meetings with Canadians that were focused on the economic crisis.
"They sense a storm is gathering, the rain is going to fall," Ignatieff said. "And they know that unemployment is not a statistic. They know that unemployment is fear in your guts, worry that you're not going to be able to feed your family, fear that what's happened to your neighbour is going to happen to you."
