Layton: NDP Will Not Support Budget

Canada appears headed for a spring election after the last of the opposition parties withdraws its support for the government’s budget.

Barring a stunning about-face from one of the federal parties, Canadians will vote for a new government this May. Less than an hour after the details of the Conservatives' 2011-2012 budget were released, NDP Leader Jack Layton held a media scrum to say that the Tories had “missed their chance” to stand up for Canadian families and confirmed that his party would not support the budget in its current form. The Liberals and Bloc Québécois had already signalled their dissatisfaction with the budget, meaning all signs point to the opposition defeating the government on a confidence motion and triggering an election. There is a slim chance the government will amend the budget to satisfy the opposition, but with the Conservatives leading in the polls and all of the parties entrenched in their budget positions, a spring election appears inevitable.