Conservatives Call Last-Minute Budget Meeting With NDP

The government attempts to strike an 11th-hour deal to ensure the budget passes.

The Conservatives will announce the details of their budget at 4 p.m. today, but before doing so, Ted Menzies, minister of state (finance), convened a 1 p.m. meeting with NDP finance critic Thomas Mulcair in what observers believe was a last-ditch effort to win the opposition party’s support. The Conservatives are willing to give the NDP concessions in the budget, including boosting benefits for seniors and giving doctors incentives to work in rural areas, but NDP sources say the party would only back the budget if it included improvements to the Canada Pension Plan. That option doesn’t appear to be on the table. The Tories need the support of one opposition party in order to pass the budget and avoid an election.