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Finance Minister Diana Whalen said earlier this week that the provincial budget would contain few surprises and she lived up to that promise Thursday.

Whalen introduced a $9.9-billion budget with a $279-million deficit. The document contains a collection of announcements from the Liberals election campaign platform, as well as some new initiatives, with about $80 million in new spending. Department spending increased overall by 5.4 per cent, or $455 million.

The net debt is estimated to be $14.6 billion as of March 31. Its projected to top $15 billion in the next fiscal year.

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The numbers say what Nova Scotians already know: the status quo isnt working, Whalen said. The hard truth is that we have significant challenges and a steep hill to climb.

Much of the department spending resulted from increased service pressures as well as negotiated wage increases, said Whalen. The minister said there would need to be a new approach to wage agreements, which cost about $50 million per percentage increase.

We just cant afford those kind of pressures, she said. We all need to work together to recognize we have a problem and together we can fix it. When things improve, we can offer bigger increases.

The Liberals are hanging a lot of importance on a review of taxes, regulations and fees that wont be complete until autumn. As such, Whalen said more significant changes would come in future budgets.

As for whats in this one, the majority of new spending focuses on education and health.

The Liberals will spend $32.6 million on home-care support, $10.6 million on doctor recruiting and training with a focus on rural areas, and $1.9 million for improved access to oncology and other drugs.

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Liberals stick to playbook with first $9.9-billion budget

Jeevan D #39;Souza: What is the Main Difference between Liberals and Conservatives?

By: Cognition Clinic

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Jeevan D'Souza: What is the Main Difference between Liberals and Conservatives? - Video

Christina Commisso, CTVNews.ca Published Wednesday, April 2, 2014 5:55PM EDT Last Updated Wednesday, April 2, 2014 10:44PM EDT

The Quebec Liberals have a strong lead over the Parti Quebecois with just days left before the provincial election, a new poll shows.

According to a new CTV/Ipsos Reid poll, Liberal support sits at 37 per cent among decided voters, which has remained unchanged, while support for the PQ is down four points to 28 per cent.

Liberal support is even stronger among Quebecers who are most likely to vote in the April 7 election.

Among those who said that nothing short of an emergency would stop them from voting, 40 per cent indicated that they support the Liberals, while 28 per cent are planning to vote PQ.

Support for the Liberals and PQ was even among Quebecers who opted to complete the survey in French, with each party receiving 31 per cent support.

However, the Liberals have a commanding lead over the other parties among those who completed the survey in English, with 83 per cent support. Meanwhile, the PQ have 3 per cent support among this group.

Other parties

If the election was held tomorrow, the poll showed that the Coalition Avenir Quebec (CAQ) led by Francois Legault would receive 19 per cent of the vote (up 3 points), while Quebec Solidaire would take 13 per cent support (up 3 points). The poll showed the Option Nationale would receive 1 per cent of the vote (down 1 point), while two per cent of Quebecers would vote for some other party including the Green Party, and 7 per cent remain undecided.

Nearly one-third of Quebecers undecided

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Quebec Liberals lead PQ as election day draws near

CTV Montreal Published Wednesday, April 2, 2014 5:33PM EDT Last Updated Wednesday, April 2, 2014 6:03PM EDT

Philippe Couillards Liberal Party has grown its lead over Pauline Marois Parti Quebecois with just days to go before the April 7 provincial election, an exclusive CTV News Ipsos Reid poll reports.

The poll gives the Liberals 37 percent of decided voters, with 28 percent going to the PQ, 19 percent to Francois Legaults CAQ and 13 percent to the Quebec Solidaire party, led by Francoise David.

Support for the Liberals is unchanged, but the PQ has lost four points since the last CTV-Ipsos Reid poll on March 19. The CAQ has risen three points, as has the QS.

Seven percent of voters remain undecided.

While the poll is good news for the Couillard Liberals, who have maintained their support and bad news for the PQ, it's a particularly welcome result for the Coalition Avenir Quebec, whose leader was praised for his performance in the leaders debate last Thursday.

"It looks what Francois Legault is doing is, being very visible and being on all of the tribunes seems to be working well for him because there are significant increases in his support," said Luc Durand of ipsos Reid.

PQ loses lead among francophones

The PQ, which until recently held a large lead among francophones, has seen that advantage disappear, as the Liberals and PQ are now tied at 31 percent support among French-speaking Quebecers, while the CAQ has 21 percent and the Quebec Solidaire clocks in at 14 percent. Other parties have just two percent support among those who opted to complete the online survey in French.

The Liberals have a massive lead people who chose to complete the survey in English, as 83 percent of that demographic supports the Liberals, while only three percent say that they will cast votes for the PQ, four percent support the CAQ. Six percent of anglophones support the QS, one percent the Option Nationale and three percent chose other parties.

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Exclusive CTV poll: Liberals' lead grows

Quebec Liberals widened their lead over the Parti Qubcois in voting intentions and PQ support among francophones appeared to be collapsing heading into the final week of the election campaign, according to a new Ipsos Reid poll.

The PQ fell to 28 per cent support, nine percentage points behind the Liberals, as the PQ campaign hit a series of missteps in the wake of two leadership debates where Leader Pauline Marois tried to go on the offensive against her Liberal counterpart, Philippe Couillard.

Compared with another Ispos Reid survey two weeks ago, the Liberals stood firm at 37 per cent while the PQ slipped four points to 28 per cent. On the strength of robust debate performances by their leaders, both Coalition Avenir Qubec and Qubec Solidaire rose three points. The CAQ sat at 19 per cent while Qubec Solidaire was at 13.

The latest poll, conducted for CTV News, showed francophone support for the PQ dropped seven points while rising three points for the Liberals, leaving the two leading parties tied at 31 per cent a result rarely seen in Quebec politics. The CAQ was the biggest beneficiary of former PQ francophone supporters, rising three points.

If the result, especially the tie among francophones, holds true for the April 7 vote, it would translate into an easy majority government win for the Liberals.

Its true, we rarely see the two parties at the same level of support among francophones, said Luc Durand, president of the Quebec branch of Ispos Reid. Mr. Durand added that additional poll results to be released Thursday will help explain the PQ collapse among francophones.

The survey was conducted with an online panel of 1,012 Quebeckers between March 28 and April 1, and has a margin of error of 3.5 per cent. The trend throughout the 2014 campaign has shown the Liberals rising and the PQ falling, with the CAQ dropping and then bouncing back mid campaign.

The bottom line appears clear: for the PQ to close to the gap, they need to woo Solidaire voters while driving squeamish Liberal voters to the CAQ, Ispos Reid said in a written analysis of the poll.

The poll questioned voters on their level of commitment and pegged the Liberal lead to 12 percentage points among voters most likely to go to the polls. It also found Liberal voters are least likely to change their minds.

As with most elections heading into the final week before Election Day, the opportunity for change still exists especially with the CAQ being the most-popular second-choice among Liberal-leaning voters, the poll analysis said. A late campaign surge that pulls Liberal voters to the CAQ could diminish the aggregate Liberal lead with the PQ being the net beneficiaries.

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Quebec Liberals lead grows as PQs francophone support falls: poll