Ontario election averted as budget bill passes

Ontarios Liberal government has seen its budget bill pass at Queens Park, which means a summer election is unlikely.

The 52-35 vote in favour of the bill occurred just after 12:15 p.m. ET.

TheProgressive Conservatives present in the legislature voted against the budget, while the governing Liberals supported it. The New Democrats abstained from voting, which allowed the bill to pass.

That meansa summer election is now unlikely, as the Liberals had signalled they wouldnot call an election if the New Democrats allowed the bill to pass.

As Premier Dalton McGuinty put it to reporters hours after the vote, "in the end, working together, we found a way to make our minority government work."

The governing Liberals had been squabbling with the New Democrats in recent days, accusing NDP Leader Andrea Horwath of reneging on a commitment to get the budget passed.

Last week, the Liberals were furious as the New Democrats teamed with the Tories to make changes to the budget during committee hearings.

Those changes came after the government had madeprior concessions to convince the New Democrats to help them move the budget through the legislature. Those concessions includeda new surtax for Ontarians earning more than $500,000 annuallyand delaying scheduled corporate tax cuts

The CBCs Mike Crawley tweeted that the tax hike required a separate vote to pass because it amended the Taxpayer Protection Act.

The New Democrats and Liberals supported it on Wednesday, helping pass the motion by a margin of 68 to 34 in a separate vote that followed the vote on the budget bill.

NDP sees positive changes to bill

With the budget bill drama over, members of the legislature will now leave Queens Park behind and the spring session is adjourned.

On Wednesday afternoon, Horwath said "there are lots of parts of the budget" that New Democrats still have concerns with, but she believes they were able to make some positive changes to the bill.

"Nobody got their own way, but I think we were able to achieve some positive changes to that budget bill that are going to help," Horwath said.

Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak, on the other hand, saw the budget that passed as one that is not doing enough to cut down Ontarios debt, or to create jobs.

"This budget compounds the problem, it makes matters worse," Hudak told reporters on Wednesday.

Reflecting back on the recent session, McGuinty acknowledged that leading a minority government has given him new challenges he hasnt had to face in the past.

But he said that it is imperative for his government to live up to those challenges.

"Making this government work for Ontarians is not an option," McGuinty said during a Wednesday afternoon news conference.

Heading into the summer, the premier said it is his intent "to keep finding common ground with the opposition parties and to make our government work for Ontarians."

The minority Liberals currently have 53 seats in the legislature, while the Tories have 36 and the New Democrats are at 17. One seat is vacant.

The Tories initially held 37 seats after the election last October, but that changed when veteran MPP Elizabeth Witmer stepped down in April totake a position with the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board.

Since then, her former riding of Kitchener-Waterloo has remained open. The premier has still not called a byelection in the two months since Witmers resignation.