The stage is being set for a spring election in Ontario.

Premier Kathleen Wynne’s vow to forge ahead with new ways to bankroll public transit has NDP Leader Andrea Horwath threatening to derail the minority Liberal government.

With Finance Minister Charles Sousa’s budget expected in late March, Ontario voters could be heading to the polls in May.

As MPPs returned to Queen’s Park on Tuesday after a 10-week break, Wynne vowed to push forward with the minority Liberals’ plans to fund transit through unspecified “revenue tools.”

“I’m here to work, I’m here to govern. I want this minority parliament to work,” she told reporters.

Wynne was pointed when asked about Horwath’s letter Monday — first disclosed by the Star — warning the NDP would no longer prop up the Liberals if the budget includes “any new taxes, tools or fees that hit middle-class families.”

“I never wing it. I’m not playing ‘Let’s Make A Deal,’ ” said the premier, who last year included a slew of Horwath’s demands in the budget to ensure its passage.

That was then and this is now, said Wynne, emphasizing billions in new transportation infrastructure are need to combat gridlock in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, which is costing the economy an estimated $6 billion annually in lost productivity.

“We have made a clear commitment to investing in transit,” she said.

“It’s not possible to make those investments in transit without identifying the revenue stream. We will bring forward a plan in the spring, in the budget, that will identify where that revenue will come from.”

The premier said she understands “people are pushed . . . that they are feeling the slowness of the recovery from the economic downturn, so we are going to do this in the fairest and most responsible way possible.”

In December, a report to the government on how to fund transit improvements in the GTA proposed Wynne raise the gasoline tax by five or 10 cents a litre, increase corporate taxes 0.5 per cent and redeploy HST revenue to a special transit fund.

That would see motorists pay another $260 annually eight years from now if the measures are phased in to bankroll the planned $50 billion Big Move transit expansion that includes a downtown relief line for the subway.

While Horwath said Ontarians cannot afford such a financial hit, she was surprisingly vague in her comments to reporters Tuesday, suggesting some ambivalence toward sparking a snap election.

She repeatedly declined to specifically say whether the NDP, which has kept the Liberals in power over the last two budgets, would defeat Sousa’s spending plan if it contained new levies.

“New Democrats do support transit. We’ve made that abundantly clear and if there’s an election — when there’s an election — people will have their choice and we’ll be clear on what our plan is,” said Horwath.

“We’re not going to support new taxes, tolls and fees that hit middle-class families,” she said, refusing to disclose the NDP’s position on Wynne’s Ontario pension plan proposal or the new $11 minimum wage.

In 2012, the NDP did not technically “support” the budget — they abstained from voting, which allowed the Liberal spending plan to pass.

The machinations have left Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak, who has been calling for an election since the 2011 campaign, watching from wings.

Hudak, who has promised more subways but not explained how a PC government would pay for them, said Ontarians should hold on to their wallets when Wynne talks about raising money for transit.

“I think it’s unfortunate the premier sees taxpayers as revenue tools,” he said, refusing to speculate on Sousa’s fiscal blueprint.

“I’m happy to talk about a Liberal budget when we actually see one,” said Hudak, who dodged around a potential political headache of his own.

Asked if he would sign nomination papers for Councillor Doug Ford, who has mused about running for the Conservatives in Etobicoke North, the Hudak ducked the question.

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“I won’t talk about folks who are not candidates.”

The Tories have distanced themselves from the councillor and his brother Mayor Rob Ford since the latter, who’s under police investigation for links to an alleged drug dealer, admitted to smoking crack cocaine.

In the 107-member legislature, there are 49 Liberals, including Speaker Dave Levac, 37 Tories, and 21 New Democrats.

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