Prime Minister Mark Carney is in full persuasion mode as his government scrambles to secure the two votes or abstentions needed to pass its first federal budget. With the Liberals just shy of a majority, several opposition MPs now find themselves in the spotlight — and their ridings stand to benefit from targeted funding sweeteners included in the budget.
Carney insists the budget reflects ideas and priorities raised by opposition members during consultations. “There’s a lot in this budget that reflects their input,” he said in Ottawa, hinting that projects and programs tied to specific ridings were included to build goodwill across party lines.
Among them, Bloc Québécois MP Alexis Deschênes faces a tough decision: the budget promises funding for the Exploramer Shark Pavilion in Sainte-Anne-des-Monts and support for the Chantier Naval Forillon shipyard in Gaspé, both in his riding.
On the NDP side, several MPs have their own incentives. The budget pledges federal money for a Filipino Community and Cultural Centre in Metro Vancouver — a project that would resonate with Interim NDP Leader Don Davies’s large Filipino-Canadian constituency. The plan also funds Rapid Fire Theatre in Edmonton-Strathcona, home to NDP MP Heather McPherson, and includes a clean technology tax credit and funding for aerial firefighting aircraft, both long-time priorities of B.C. MP Gord Johns.
For the Conservatives, the temptations are equally local. The Bissell Centre in Edmonton-Griesbach — represented by Kerry Diotte — is slated for anti-poverty support. Warren Steinley’s Regina-Lewvan riding will see funds for the RCMP Heritage Centre, while Vincent Neil Ho’s Richmond Hill South riding is promised support for a Victims of Flight PS752 Memorial. In Montmorency-Charlevoix, Quebec MP Gabriel Hardy could see new investment in an Earth Sciences Centre in La Malbaie.
Still, Carney’s “big tent” approach may not be enough to overcome entrenched opposition. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has already rejected the budget, calling it fiscally reckless for projecting a $78-billion deficit — far beyond his demand to cap it at $42 billion. His calls for lower capital gains, income, and carbon taxes also went unanswered.
Meanwhile, the Bloc Québécois said the Liberals ignored its six key demands, signaling little appetite to support the bill despite Deschênes’s local gains.
The NDP may be Carney’s best hope. While their campaign promise for a $500-million Youth Climate Corps far exceeds the government’s $40-million pilot, the budget’s inclusion of NDP-friendly policies on affordable housing, school lunches, dental care, and high-speed rail could tip the balance.
With just two votes standing between survival and defeat, Carney’s outreach is as much political chess as policy work. Whether the riding-level promises will translate into parliamentary backing could decide not only the fate of the budget — but the longevity of Carney’s minority government.