Carney has not courted opposition parties like some of his predecessors.
Carney met with opposition leaders before presenting this budget.
And Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne included some spending commitments and new programs that appeal to Bloc and NDP MPs in particular, including infrastructure projects for certain constituencies, a Youth Climate Corps and increased funding for CBC/Radio-Canada, among other initiatives.
But the government has not done everything it can to court opposition parties in the weeks leading up to this vote.
As you probably remember, former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau essentially adopted large chunks of the NDP agenda (including pharmaceutical and dental care) as his own to secure his support for a multi-year confidence and supply agreement.
And in 2005, former premier Paul Martin agreed to spend about $4.6 billion on various NDP priorities to secure votes for his budget in that minority Parliament.
There is none of that with this prime minister. It’s not a take or leave approach, but it’s close. Carney is essentially daring the opposition to vote against this budget and trigger an election so soon after the last one.
