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No relationship can feel new and exciting forever. In the words of John Cusack in High Fidelity, it’s not all lipstick and lingerie.

For the Liberals, two new opinion polls suggest that the honeymoon is drawing to a close and we are about to enter the “washed- out cotton underwear hanging in the bathroom” phase.

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tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or John Ivison: New polls a warning for Liberals that public not in mood to tolerate large deficits Back to video

One survey by Navigator looks at Canadian attitudes to infrastructure spending. It suggests that there is overwhelming support for spending on public transit, social housing and green infrastructure, with 78 per cent of the 1,211 respondents saying they endorse it.

But that number declines dramatically when it is linked to a deficit figure — 51 per cent support spending that produces a $10-billion deficit; 48 per cent support pending that produces deficits of more than $10 billion; and just 36 per cent support deficits as high as $20 billion.

That should be a flashing red warning light for Bill Morneau, the finance minister, as he prepares his budget, given the near certainty that he is going to blow through the “modest” $10-billion deficit predicted in the Liberal election platform.