Ontarians have had their say about budget day every which way.

The Liberal government claims it consulted 600,000 people for its financial plan, released early this month.

The NDP counters that thousands of “everyday families” have called its toll-free number or surfed to an online budget survey hosted by party leader Andrea Horwath.

If you haven’t yet spoken up, time’s up.

New Democrats know all good conversations must come to a conclusion. Now it’s time for Horwath’s MPPs to make up their own minds about the budget they helped write — and can hardly renounce.

They’re torn. Sometimes, propping up is hard to do.

With their unprecedented input into the budget, New Democrats are not just chuffed but chagrined: they risk political contamination if they cozy up to a Liberal government in foul odour for the costly cancellation of gas-fired power plants.

Horwath is loath to be seen as a Liberal enabler. Junior coalition partners (or silent allies) typically pay a political price for backing the party in power, because they appear to be excusing its sins.

Wielding the balance of power in a minority legislature, the NDP extracted impressive concessions from the governing Liberals: a promised 15 per cent (average) cut in auto insurance, youth job-creation, welfare reforms and improved home care.

But the opposition Tories are taunting the NDP as Liberal apologists who will hold their noses to let the budget pass and keep the minority government alive. They keep goading the New Democrats into forcing a full election rather than phony telephone consultations.

A $92 million campaign can’t be ruled out. Election strategists say the NDP has booked a major advertising buy for month’s end, when the first budget vote takes place, and just spent big money on signage.

“We’re preparing for all scenarios,” one senior Horwath adviser mused.

The NDP caucus held another private “conversation” Monday to compare notes, but remains split along regional lines. MPPs from GTA ridings, where the Liberals remain popular, are urging caution. MPPs from the north and southwest, where the Liberals are vulnerable, want to do battle.

The problem is that the battle lines are hard to define, because recent polling is all over the map. The results range from an NDP on the ascendant, to a party tumbling to its traditional third-place perch.

The latest Forum poll showed 61 per cent believe the Liberals misled them about the costs of cancelling the gas plants, yet most Ontarians wanted the NDP to back the budget, opposed an election, and would elect a Liberal government.

That’s provincial politics. Now, consider the federal factor:

These days, newly elected Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau is enjoying a honeymoon, while federal NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair lacks the accumulated goodwill enjoyed by his late predecessor, Jack Layton. Ontario New Democrats know they could be buffeted by strong federal headwinds favouring the Liberals.

That’s why Horwath has been careful to say she’s not drawing any “lines in the sand.” In truth, she is walking a fine line, trying to push her agenda while holding the government to account.

When her initial budgetary demands were (more or less) granted in the budget, Horwath moved on to a second phase of post-budget requests: a new federal-style budget officer to ensure probity, and a broader mandate for the ombudsman to probe hospitals. But Horwath seemed disingenuous when rolling out her new “asks” — as if she had just tabulated her toll-free phone lines and Internet surveys. She also seems churlish for snubbing Wynne’s invitations to meet for two months.

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If Horwath’s behaviour seemed contrived, it was certainly calculating: the NDP is trying to keep its distance from Wynne’s Liberals, while still retaining the balance of power.

That means keeping the budget alive, and the Liberals on life support, without getting burned by the gas plants issue.

Martin Regg Cohn’s provincial affairs column appears Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. mcohn@thestar.ca , twitter.com/reggcohn .

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