Ontario's budget is just a day old, but the political jockeying has already begun.
Premier Dalton McGuinty took his budget pitch to millions of voters in the Greater Toronto Area, Ottawa and London on Wednesday in a front-page wrapper ad in a free commuter daily asking them to support his $127-billion spending plan.
Meanwhile, the New Democrats have launched a toll-free hotline and website to get feedback from the public about the budget.
The minority Liberals could face an election if they can't get either the NDP or the Opposition Conservatives to support their fiscal plan to eliminate a $15-billion deficit in five years.
The Progressive Conservatives have already vowed to oppose the budget even if that means going back to the polls, while the New Democrats are coy about how they'll vote.
McGuinty said he's open to "any additional ideas" from the opposition parties to improve the budget, but there are limits.
Ontario must slay its deficit in 2017 and it must protect health care and education by keeping class sizes small and rolling out full-day kindergarten for 4- and 5-year-olds, he said.
No one's looking for an election, McGuinty added.
"I would certainly be proud to campaign on our budget and our five-year plan, and I would certainly seek a majority in order to get the job done," he said while visiting a family in a posh north Toronto neighbourhood to talk about how the budget will affect average people.
"But I remain very hopeful that it does not come to that. We've worked hard to ensure that the opposition see themselves reflected in the budget."
NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said she's "disappointed" with the budget and wants to consult Ontario residents before her party decides how it will vote.
In 2005, former federal NDP leader Jack Layton managed to wring $4.6 billion in concessions from the minority Liberal government in exchange for his party's support for the budget. It was one of Layton's greatest triumphs and increased his credibility as an effective leader, paving the way for the NDP's ascent to official Opposition six years later.
While Horwath did see one of her chief demands met in the provincial budget -- freezing corporate taxes at the current 11.5 per cent -- she's balked at the government's threat of legislating a wage freeze for public sector workers if all other options are exhausted.
Horwath also took issue with executive compensation at the province's agencies, hospitals, universities, colleges and school boards. The Liberals propose to freeze those salaries for another two years, but won't touch the bonuses that push up executive pay.
"They could have done something a lot stronger on that and, in fact, what they've done is not going to change the spiralling compensation packages," Horwath said.
"So we're seriously considering asking them to reconsider that."
But that would be difficult as there are existing contracts -- beyond the government's direct control -- that have already set out what executives are entitled to, said Finance Minister Dwight Duncan. It also wouldn't save much money.
The treasurer wasn't very receptive to Horwath's other suggestion to tie tax credits for businesses to job creation. Tax credits aren't needed any longer because Ontario's tax system is very competitive, he said.
Duncan said he's willing to listen to Horwath's ideas. But if they require more spending, she must find the money for it somewhere else, he said.
Duncan said he'll also be talking to thousands of voters across the province about the budget through telephone town halls. But he expects everyone will say the same thing.
"The one thing I do know is that the people of this province do not want an election, not five months after the last one," he said.
All three parties are still mired in their own campaign debts, which will likely discourage them from triggering an election so soon after the Oct. 6 vote. The Liberals only need two opposition members to support the budget to avoid defeat.
Tory Leader Tim Hudak, whose party is $6 million in debt, dismissed suggestions that he's flirting with disaster by voting against the budget.
Ontario voters sent his party "very clear" marching orders to fight for jobs and a budget that will re-balance the books and cut spending, he said.
"This is about putting principle head of party," Hudak said.
"If I saw a jobs plan, if I saw a real plan to curb spending in the budget, I'd support it. We didn't see it yesterday and we can't support it."
The Tories and NDP will be able to make one amendment to the budget motion before the crucial confidence vote, which is expected no later than April 24.
