MP Peter Stoffer: 'If I was a betting man, I would say this honestly, I have a feeling the budget may be allowed to pass.' (CBC)

The Conservative budget scheduled to be brought next Tuesday may survive a challenge in Parliament, even though a coalition of Opposition parties remains intact, a New Democratic MP says.

Peter Stoffer said several things may happen after Finance Minister Jim Flaherty presents his budget, and that much will depend on what new Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff decides to do.

"I really don't know how it's going to go. But if I was a betting man, I would say this honestly, I have a feeling the budget may be allowed to pass," Stoffer, who represents the Nova Scotia riding of Sackville-Eastern Shore, said Thursday in St. John's.

"But I'm just looking at this, not as a member of Parliament, but as an objective observer of politics, and would think that Mr. Ignatieff would want to buy more time for himself and his party."

Prime Minister Stephen Harper moved in December to have Parliament prorogued until January, after a coalition formed between the Liberals and New Democrats, with support from the Bloc Québécois.

Since then, Ignatieff has replaced Stéphane Dion as Liberal leader, and the Conservatives appear to have shifted gears on budget priorities to react to a worsening economy. An official said Thursday the government will post a deficit of $34 billion in the upcoming budget, which will aim to revive the economy.

Stoffer said he feels that Canadian voters have made it clear that they want all parties to work together, even if they don't like Harper.

Stoffer said he also believes Ignatieff is thinking long-term, and is preparing his party for an election.

Meanwhile, Labrador MP Todd Russell, a Liberal, said his caucus will judge the forthcoming budget on its merits.

Russell said the Conservatives have a lot of work to do.

"We saw no honesty from the Conservative government, the Harper government, when it came to the fiscal and economic update that we had this past fall," said Russell.

"What some parliamentarians I hear saying on the Hill is this — even if there are some good measures in the budget, can we trust them to fulfil those particular measures or carry them out, or fulfil their promises?"