HALIFAX - Nova Scotia Liberals emerged from their annual general meeting Sunday saying they are ready for a provincial election, but weren't as definitive about bringing the government down in the spring.
In an interview, Leader Stephen McNeil said his party would continue to offer "constructive solutions" to the governing Conservative minority and would judge its legislation as it is brought forward.
However, he added the spring budget would have to be balanced and that he'd have to see a vision for the province before the Tories could win Liberal support.
"It's their job to build that budget, that'll be their budget ... and we'll make an assessment about whether it's good for Nova Scotians," said McNeil.
The leader said he needed to get some sense progress is being made in assisting the province's citizens through the recession.
"Nova Scotians are uneasy...What comes out in terms of legislation this spring needs to be well-thought out. This government needs to be thinking about the future to provide some comfort to Nova Scotians," he said.
Last spring the opposition NDP voted against the budget and the government was saved by Liberal support.
The Liberals hold the balance of power with just nine seats in the 52-seat legislature and McNeil is clearly intent on shifting the responsibility to the government's shoulders this time around.
"We're preparing for an election campaign and it will be up to the government whether Nova Scotians are forced into one or not," he said.
In fact, the Liberals are still rebuilding a party that slipped to an all-time low in support in the 2006 election with just 23 per cent of the vote.
McNeil has long been vocal about the need for party officials to re-engage with grassroots members and he believes those efforts have begun to pay off.
Indeed, the party has been encouraged by a recent poll placing them a solid second behind the NDP.
Party president Derek Wells said that kind of news, coupled with renewed interest in the party leaders at both the federal and provincial levels has created some momentum.
He said party officials were forced to turn people away from the annual meeting because of an overflow crowd that came out to hear federal Leader Michael Ignatieff speak on Saturday.
"I think we're going to have a lot of Liberals going back out to their ridings pretty excited," he said.
And Wells readily acknowledged that excitement will be key to motivating grassroots support that has steadily shrunk in recent years.
He points to data collected following the last federal election that identified 800,000 Liberal supporters across Canada who simply stayed home. He said that lesson isn't lost on Nova Scotia Liberals.
"The first issue is recognize the problem," said Wells. "We've recognized it and now we're working on the solution."
Meanwhile, he said the party could hit the hustings immediately if an election were called.
The Liberals can utilize a fund that currently sits at about $500,000 and the party plans to run a $1 million campaign according to campaign director Chris MacInnes.
"We're not going be outspent by any of the parties," he said.
In the meantime he said party officials would stress the importance of building riding organizations and getting the Liberal message out.
"You're not re-inventing the wheel, so its relaying to delegates, relaying to volunteers an approach to maximize your vote, to get out your vote."
MacInnes said the Liberals had nominated 25 candidates to date and expected to have more announcements within the next two weeks.
