The figure is not mentioned in budget estimates now being debated in the legislature, but the Manitoba government is preparing to spend about another $1 million on the Spirited Energy marketing campaign if the auditor general gives the program the thumbs-up.

Funding for the campaign, which promotes Manitoba as a good place to live and work, will be in line with previous years, Competitiveness Minister Jim Rondeau said Tuesday.

"It's on pause right now, we're waiting for the auditor's report, and when it [comes], we'll move forward," he said.

Manitoba has spent almost $2.5 million on the campaign over the last two years, paying a consulting firm to come up with the Spirited Energy brand and buying newspaper and television advertisements aimed at attracting people and businesses to the province.

The campaign has come under fire from critics who say the Spirited Energy slogan is vague and baffling. The opposition has said the campaign seems to be more focused on promoting the NDP government than on promoting the province.

Last March, auditor general Carol Bellringer agreed to a legislature committee's request to look at how the money has been spent so far, and Premier Gary Doer said further funding would be on hold until that report is complete.

The Spirited Energy spending plan is not spelled out in the detailed budget estimates that are being debated this fall inside the legislature, Rondeau said, because the funding is spread out between various departments and lumped in with other programs.

"Some of it is in industry promotion, some of it is in tourism, some of it's in different departments" Rondeau said. "Each of those departments has some sort of promotions [role]."

Opposition members said the lack of a clear budget plan makes it hard to find out what lies ahead for Spirited Energy.

"There's no one that's coming to the floor to say, 'Ask me the questions, I know the answers,'" said Liberal MLA Kevin Lamoureux.

"It's unfortunate because the public has a right to know."

Lamoureux also said the province would be better off abandoning Spirited Energy and reverting to the old slogan that still adorns the province's licence plates, Friendly Manitoba.