Canadians will have to wait until Monday to hear whether Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff will prop up the Conservatives or try toppling the minority government over its handling of the economic downturn.
Ignatieff will be spending the weekend consulting with "a range of people whose opinions he respects, inside and outside the party," an insider told the Canadian Press on Friday. The Liberal leader will also be going over the Tories' latest economic progress report, deciding whether it's good enough to prevent sending Canadians to the polls, only eight months after the last election.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Stephen Harper delivered his rosy update on the economy, saying 80 per cent of stimulus spending was being implemented and 3,000 new infrastructure projects have begun.
Ignatieff slammed the report as unrealistically positive, but pledged to take a close look at the document before making up his mind.
On Friday, Liberal infrastructure critic Gerard Kennedy said Harper's update gave a false sense of security to Canadians.
"The prime minister and (Transport Minister John Baird) are using language rather than action. 'Being implemented' they take to mean if they've thought about it, then Canadians should feel something is happening," Kennedy told CTV.
He said very few new infrastructure projects have actually begun since the budget was approved more than four months ago, and as a result $22.7 billion in stimulus spending hasn't resulted in many new jobs.
"We've had no successes so far and we really have to assess the capacity of the government to move forward, and that is our guidepost. It's not about an election per se, it's about the best way to deliver for Canadians," Kennedy said.
Immediately after hearing Harper's report, NDP Leader Jack Layton and Bloc Leader Gilles Duceppe vowed to vote against the government next Friday when the economic update is put to a confidence vote.
The Liberals would also have to vote against the update in order for the government to fall.
Ignatieff said the New Democrats and Bloc Quebecois rejected the update without even looking at it, but it would be irresponsible for him to do so.
"I think it's time to take off the rose-coloured glasses and look closely at the numbers," Ignatieff said in Montreal on Thursday.
He said the Liberals are prepared to enter an election campaign, if necessary, but said the timing is in question.
"The question is what is in the national interest, what do Canadians want here?" Ignatieff asked.
"Let's remember where we are. ... We're in the middle of the most serious recession in a generation, right? What's the right way forward for our country? That's the question I'll be asking myself tonight."
Ignatieff is expected to announce his decision Friday or Monday.
In his update, Harper said Canada's economy is chugging towards recovery and will only be derailed by "needless political instability."
Harper was in Cambridge, Ont., delivering the second of his government's promised quarterly reports to the House of Commons.
He said Canada was the last of the major developed countries to be dragged into the global recession, has been the least hard-hit by it, and "we will make sure Canada emerges in the strongest position when it is over."
