Before or After?

A topic I'm sure many politically aware Canadians will be thinking about over the holiday season is whether there will be an election in the Spring. Given that both the Bloc and the Liberals seem determined to defeat the government in the Spring, I think it's safe to say we're looking at an election some time before July, likely earlier.

So that raises the question - would it be wise to defeat the government over the budget? Or would it be better to force the fall of the government over Afghanistan or Kyoto? Personally, I'd have to say the latter. I don't know what's going to be in the Tory budget, but it's rumoured to be laden with tax cuts. I question the wisdom of going into an election against a sitting government that is bringing in a budget that will cut taxes so heavily. The Liberals were able to crush Stockwell Day and the Alliance in 2000 due in no small part to their tax-cut heavy 2000 budget. It would be difficult to oppose such a budget and then fight a campaign on it; the thought of doing so worries me greatly.