Toronto's own Michael Ignatieff will remain the leader of the opposition as he plans to have his Liberal party support the budget announced yesterday - but with a caveat. Ignatieff intends to introduce an amendment requiring periodic economic status updates to parliament. The requirement appears to be the price Conservatives must pay to remain in power.

The NDP and Bloc have been clear that they would not support this budget and it's been hard to tell how seriously the Liberals were considering defeating the budget, although as of last night it was reported that Ignatieff was not expected to simply support the budget as presented.

With so much political wrangling - a dirty dance not likely to stop - what does all this mean for Toronto?

Depending on who I listen to, I hear everything from Toronto being well taken care of to us getting left in the dirt. Jack Layton is taking to the airwaves to explain why he has no confidence in the Harper government - and that they aren't going to make good on their budgetary promises.

Of course when interviewed this morning, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty went on at length about how well he knows Toronto and how badly Union Station needs upgrading and that Toronto will see more than enough federal money to take on capital projects. He practically accused our municipal government of ignoring critical needs, suggesting that the federal government was now stepping in to take care of us.

David Miller has deep concerns about whether he'll be able to advance his Transit City project, and while he won't outright blast the federal government (after all, he wants their money!), it's obvious he's not happy, either.

So, rightly or wrongly, it was left to Toronto's own Michael Ignatieff to find some sort of way forward, and it appears he's content to let the government stand - at least for now - while trying to exert the influence of the potential coalition.

Right, so how does this help Toronto? I guess we'll find out just how well our MPs can get along, but they're certainly throwing enough money at the problems something should improve.

Photo by blogTO flickr pool member lipsofcrimson.