The Quebec budget passed in the legislature on Friday, saving Quebecers from heading back to the polls this summer.
Premier Jean Charest's minority Liberal government remains intact after a 46-44 vote in the national assembly.
All Liberals in the legislature voted for the budget, while the 41 Action democratique du Quebec MLAs rejected it.
In a symbolic protest, three of the PQ's 36 MLAs showed up Friday to express the party's opposition to the budget, with the remainder abstaining from the vote.
But Action democratique du Quebec Leader Mario Dumont, whose party opposed the budget, said the PQ essentially supported the Liberals.
"I think there were officially three PQ members who were with the government," Dumont told CTV's Mike Duffy Live by phone.
"Because the PQ today made a pretty large statement. They voted against the government, and although they were only three out of 36, that's what the people will remember."
Had all the PQ members voted against the budget, Charest's minority government would have fallen and Quebecers would have gone to the polls in July.
"I am especially happy because it's a good budget for Quebecers,'' Charest told reporters after the budget passed.
Finance Minister Monique Jerome-Forget announced in the national assembly on Friday that $111 million in additional spending will be financed by tax hikes on financial institutions and oil companies.
The money will be funnelled to the elderly, students with learning difficulties and the province's regions.
The Liberals agreed to the supplementary funds after the separatist party threatened to bring down the government.
The ADQ denounced the hikes, saying consumers will actually feel the burden through gas prices and bank fees.
"The government raises the taxes of banks and oil companies,'' said finance critic Gilles Taillon.
"Is there anyone who seriously doesn't think this new tax hike won't be immediately passed along to consumers?''
Charest's minority government introduced a budget last week with $950 million in income tax cuts funded largely through federal transfers. The PQ wanted an additional $300 million in spending -- and the cancellation of part of the tax cut for well-off Quebecers.
Political analyst L. Ian MacDonald says Charest grossly misjudged the mood of the legislature and Quebecers when he took a hard line on the tax cut.
MacDonald says despite the win, Charest has lost both in terms of his confidence and his judgment.
"The government (Liberal) is not to blame for this mess, but Charest is the first among equals," MacDonald said.
On Thursday, the PQ grudgingly agreed to let the Liberals stay in power.
Talks between Charest, interim PQ Leader Francois Gendron and PQ finance critic Francois Legault went late Thursday -- as both sides fought over the balance between spending and tax cuts.
"In the circumstances, the caucus decided to vote against the budget, but we will avoid defeating the budget because we are responsible," Gendron said.
"We have understood the message of the population when they said they did not want an election. I can read what the people are saying.
"Mr. Charest will have to live with setting up this confrontation and the stubbornness he displayed."
Dumont's ADQ was absent from the wrangling.
Charest's reluctance to compromise on the budget was hard for many to understand -- with polls suggesting that if a summer election were to be held, the Liberals would finish third. But analysts say the premier was likely gambling the PQ didn't want an election either.
"All of these tax cuts are couched in a language of the middle class, everything for the middle class. The middle class is what we want to focus on in Quebec, and if you remember, that's where he lost a lot of support to the ADQ," said Antonia Maioni, director of the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada.
"So everything he does is in view of the next election, which he wants to take back some of the seats that went to the ADQ," she told CTV's Canada AM.
The Liberals hold 48 seats, the ADQ 41 and the PQ 36 seats in the 125-seat legislature.
With files from the Canadian Press
