Initial Response By Opposition Parties
The Conservative Party, the largest opposition party, surprised many by announcing that it would support the budget immediately after it was read in the House of Commons. Party leader Stephen Harper described it as "better than expected", and described its focus on tax cuts and defence spending as being in line with Conservative policy. It is highly unusual for the official opposition to vote in favour of the government's budget. However, Harper later changed his position on the budget, and his party joined with the NDP and the Bloc Québécois in the largest abstention in Canadian history.
The Bloc Québécois and party leader Gilles Duceppe, who were demanding an overhaul to employment insurance and the elimination of the fiscal imbalance, voted against the budget.
The New Democratic Party voted against the budget on first reading. Leader Jack Layton agreed with Harper that it was a "conservative budget" and was especially critical of the corporate tax cuts and the limited new funding for social programs.
Read more about this topic: 2005 Canadian Federal Budget
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