The resumption of Parliament on Jan. 26 has government and opposition MPs gearing up for what could be a showdown over the budget.

With the economy sputtering and the prospect of a coalition government ready to replace the current one, the life of the existing government will depend on its ability to satisfy the demands of the opposition parties.

The opposition’s hand was recently strengthened by an agreement reached in December to form a rare coalition government with members from the Liberal and NDP caucuses filling the government benches. Under the agreement, the leader of the Liberal Party, which is now Michael Ignatieff, would become Prime Minister.

However, for the coalition to come about, the current governing party must first lose the confidence of the House of Commons. The budget, which is due to be presented by Minister of Finance Jim Flarherty on Jan. 28, will likely determine whether or not the conservative government survives.

Prime Minister Harper avoided the defeat of the highly partisan economic statement presented in November by asking the Governor General to prorogue Parliament, to which she agreed.

Since then, the government has been quickly putting together a massive budget with an estimated deficit of between $30 billion and $40 billion in an attempt to appease the opposition.

Victoria NDP MP Denise Savoie says that while she will consider the content of the budget before deciding how to vote, she does not think that the Harper government has changed its policies enough to gain her confidence or that of the House of Commons.

“I don’t think that Mr. Harper has had a personality change or changed his mind about where to take the country,” said Savoie. “Being in a difficult economic position, we have to make sure that economic decisions are made in the public interest. The government has already wasted too much time by proroguing Parliament just to save Mr. Harper’s skin.”

Savoie also said that, among other things, she wants to see a detailed economic stimulus package worth the equivalent of two per cent of the Canadian GDP included in the budget.

Ignatieff has his own demands, saying that he expects to see provisions made to protect the most vulnerable members of society, as well as to protect investments in infrastructure, competitiveness and productivity.

The last few weeks have seen the government take a decidedly more conciliatory tone toward opposition parties, trying to get opposition input into the budget to ensure its passage. Harper has been appealing for co-operation in the drafting of the budget.

“Now is the time for everybody to try and reach consensus if that’s possible, but especially to try and work together — federally, provincially, internationally, across party lines — to deal with the problems that everybody knows are urgent and large,” said Harper.