Nova Scotia politicians will be watching Ottawa Monday to see what's in the federal budget for the province.

The federal budget will be tabled Monday afternoon before Nova Scotia's MLAs take their seats at Province House for the start of the spring session.

Premier Rodney MacDonald is hoping federal Conservatives announce more money will flow to the provinces in transfer payments, which would help his minority Tories with their budget plans. The provincial budget is expected to be tabled this week, but no date has been set.

The Tories have been warning Nova Scotians to prepare for a stay-the-course budget and have said they may have to delay some of the spending commitments they made during the provincial election last year.

Interim Liberal Leader Michel Samson said he thinks a federal bailout is a definite possibility.

"It seems that every year that's the case," Samson said. "The provincial government prepares us for a bad news budget and then, lo and behold, the federal government finds new revenues to send to the provinces and suddenly the budget isn't that bad."

The federal budget is expected to include up to $3.5 billion in extra transfers to help the provinces and territories pay for health care, post-secondary education and infrastructure.

As a minority government, Nova Scotia's Tories need the support of one of the opposition parties to pass their budget and stay in power.