Relief coming to middle class: PM

Middle-income earners can expect some relief in the next federal budget, Prime Minister Stephen Harper says.

Harper's comments come as he meets with first ministers in Ottawa to go over their wish list for the Jan. 27 budget.

"It is very important to help the vulnerable, struggling sectors and help people who are losing their jobs. But you can't sustain economic activity without having stimulus for the middle class as well," Harper said in an interview with the National Post. "That's very important. Since the middle class is paying most of the freight, the middle class has to share in the stimulus program and we will be making sure that is the case."

But the prime minister wouldn't say specifically if this involved some kind of tax cut, saying only that that the government is "looking at a range of specific spending and tax measures of all kinds.

"We have to help the vulnerable and those affected most severely by the downturn. But you can't do that and leave the middle class to fend for itself. A program like that would not be successful," Harper said.

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty has said his budget would contain some form of tax cuts to spur spending.

But the final budget could depend upon the wishes of Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff. 

"There is a distinction between the kind of tax cuts that I favour, and the broader tax cuts that Harper and Flaherty are talking about," Ignatieff told reporters in Vancouver on Thursday. He said those tax cuts should be aimed at the "least fortunate."

Last week, Ignatieff said it's going to be very important to get stimulus into the Canadian economy fast.

"So we may be looking at tax cuts very quickly — tax cuts targeted at medium- and low-income [earners] to boost their purchasing power fast," he said.

Harper told the Post that he hopes to sit down with Ignatieff to hear his views before making any decisions.

The Liberals have threatened to defeat the minority government and pursue a coalition with the NDP and support from the Bloc Québécois if the budget doesn't do enough to stimulate the economy.

Harper has suggested the budget could contain up to $30 billion in stimulus measures over several years.

The prime minister is currently meeting in Ottawa with provincial and territorial leaders who are pressing for money for new infrastructure projects to stimulate their economies.