Pierre Poilievre won’t say if his Conservatives will strike down upcoming federal budget

With just days to go until the Liberal government introduces its much-anticipated federal budget, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre won’t say whether his party will strike down the legislation — instead insisting he needs to read the document before deciding.

“I don’t have telepathic powers to tell you what’s in it,” Poilievre said in an interview on Rosemary Barton Live airing Sunday morning. “If it were to bring down the cost of living — an affordable budget for an affordable living is something that I support."

The Conservatives have laid out a few key demands to the Liberals for the budget, including scrapping the industrial carbon tax and keeping the deficit below $42 billion.

When asked by host Rosemary Barton why he would accept a deficit as high as $42 billion, Poilievre said that “it’s not OK, but it is the disastrous state we’re in after 10 years of Liberal government."

“I would like a zero deficit, but the Liberals have put us in this mess, and I work with what I got.”

When pressed by Barton that his comments mean he won’t support the budget, Poilievre reiterated that he hasn’t yet seen the document and wants the Liberals to introduce a budget that will make life more affordable for Canadians.

“If the government were in a collaborative mode, recognizing they only have a minority, they would accept my ideas for an affordable budget for an affordable Canada,” he added.

The Liberal government will need the co-operation of at least one other party in order to pass the budget, which is being tabled on Tuesday in the House of Commons.

Because the budget is a confidence vote, Canadians could be facing another federal election if it doesn’t pass.

Prime Minister Mark Carney signalled on Saturday he’s prepared to fight an election over the budget should it come to that. He also said he’s “100 per cent confident that this budget is the right budget for this country — at this moment."

“This is not a game. This is a critical moment in the global economy — or an important moment in the global economy. It's a critical one for our country,” Carney said before boarding the plane to return home from the APEC summit in South Korea.

The Liberals could solve this political puzzle if the NDP supports their budget or abstains from the vote. But like Poilievre, interim NDP Leader Don Davies told Barton on Friday he needs to read the document before making a decision.

“We have said that we want a budget that invests. Cutting good, family-sustaining jobs that exist in the public service at a time when we want to create jobs doesn’t seem right to us. But we’re going to see where the cuts are,” Davies said.

When asked whether he wants an election, Davies said, “Personally, I don’t think Canadians want an election ... and frankly, given the serious issues facing us, I’m not sure that an election is good for the country at the moment."