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However, Liberal Gerry Lowe remains a wild card. Lowe has said his vote would hinge on how much the budget helps his Saint John riding.

Vickers said Lowe would face consequences if he fails to toe the line.

The current standings in the legislature are 20 Tories, 20 Liberals, three Greens, three People’s Alliance members, one Independent and two vacancies.

Vickers said he could recall Liberal Daniel Guitard from his role as Speaker to secure one more vote for his party, as the Speaker doesn’t vote unless there is a tie.

People’s Alliance Leader Kris Austin said he and the party’s two other caucus members will vote in favour of the budget.

“At the end of the day, I think it’s going to be a hard budget to vote against,” Austin said.

That means the Green party could cast the deciding vote on March 20.

“The balance of power has shifted in this legislature towards the Green caucus. We take that responsibility very seriously,” said Green Leader David Coon.

“We are going to take our time to reflect on the budget, to discuss it, and in the end come up with a decision that reflects, in our view, what’s in the best interests of our province.”

Coon said the budget surplus of $92.4 million is larger than necessary, and he said more money should have been put into many of the budget initiatives.

Steeves defended the budget, saying it lowers the province’s net debt by $129.3 million and puts money back in the pockets of New Brunswickers.

“This budget is designed to continue on our path to save New Brunswick, not to save government,” Steeves said.