Layton said yesterday that only the NDP-Liberal coalition formed last year to replace the Tories can be trusted to implement the ideas needed to help Canada through the economic turmoil.

"It's a coalition that can help take Canada toward a better future. The coalition will only come into being if all of the opposition parties take the courageous stand to stand up to (Prime Minister Stephen) Harper at this critical time after all that he's done," Layton told a meeting of New Democrat MPs.

"If the Liberals decide to support Mr. Harper, I have to tell them, they should know this: they'll be doing it alone," he said.

He later added in French that the Liberals would "carry the shame of keeping in power this government in whom we can no longer have confidence."

But Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff is leaving himself room to back the Conservative budget next week, while warning that Harper is a "gambler" who may yet provoke opposition parties to defeat him.

Ignatieff said yesterday he was "open-mouthed with amazement" when Harper delivered the November economic update that openly goaded opposition parties while providing little relief for the country’s ailing economy.

"I thought, 'what planet does this political leader live on?' So we've had one surprise and we might well have another. This man is a gambler, you can never tell what he's got up his sleeve," Ignatieff told the Star.

Ignatieff, never an enthusiastic backer of the coalition, said he won't pass judgment on next Tuesday’s budget until he's read it. "There's no one single trigger on this issue. A budget is a big document, hundreds of billions of dollars," he told reporters yesterday.

"I take a view of the ensemble of this budget. Does it protect the vulnerable? Does it save jobs today? Does it create jobs tomorrow? Those are three things I'm looking for," he said.

He also attached a caution about the size of the deficit required to pay for the massive stimulus package, making it clear the Liberals oppose years of red ink.

"Critical to the Liberal view of this budget is fiscal prudence, is fiscal responsibility," he said.

That view was echoed by Harper yesterday, suggesting that the Tories and Liberals could find common ground in the approach to tackling the economic downturn.

"There's a general consensus — a strong consensus — that all governments need to spend, need to invest quickly and efficiently and effectively while at the same time avoiding a long-term, permanent deficit," Harper said in Halifax yesterday.

Harper, who met with Ignatieff later yesterday, has also raised the prospect of tax cuts for the middle class, something the Liberal leader cautioned against yesterday.

"Our party thinks that targeted tax relief for the most vulnerable that would improve their purchasing power would be a good thing. We have concerns about broad-based middle-class tax cuts 'cause we worry this will pitch the country into a deficit," Ignatieff said.

After his speech, Layton seemed to leave room for his party to support the budget if Harper showed a change of heart.

"We always believe in miracles," he told reporters. "I've lost confidence in Mr. Harper's administration and that's of course going to make it very difficult for us when it comes to the budget."

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Meanwhile, Don Drummond, chief economist for TD Bank, said he does not believe predictions the deficit will hit $40 billion in next week's budget.

He said the deficit now likely stands around $10 billion and that the budget is likely to add $12 billion to $14 billion in spending stimulus.