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Stephen Harper's minority government moved to insure itself against immediate defeat Monday with a family-friendly budget that funnels $39-billion to provinces, a $2,000 tax credit to parents with school-age children and cash incentives to consumers to buy eco-friendly cars.

Within minutes of the release of the budget — which offers Quebec at least $2.3-billion more a year — the separatist Bloc Québécois announced it will back the fiscal plan, giving the Tories enough votes to pass it in the House of Commons.

The 13-month-old Conservative government's second budget targets middle-class Canadians, including families with children and seniors, whom the Tories believe represent their best chance to create a political majority in the next election.

For instance, a new $2,000 child benefit will save tax-paying parents up to $310 for each child under 18.

"There were many personal tax relief options we could have pursued in this budget. We made a choice: We chose to support hard-working families," Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said in his budget speech.

The Tories heaped goodies on seniors, another key voter base, including a $750-million plan allowing couples to split pension income for tax purposes. They raised the age limit to 71 from 69 for registered retirement savings plans.

Calculated to sand off the sharp edges of Mr. Harper's image, the budget puts far more emphasis on spending and dials down the emphasis on tax relief, compared with the 2006 fiscal plan.

The 2007 budget offers a roughly 50-50 mix of spending and tax breaks, whereas the 2006 plan was three-quarters tax relief.

With regards to spending, the budget's centrepiece is the Harper government's attempt to pacify provincial griping about Ottawa not sharing its riches.

The Tories are transferring about $39-billion to the provinces over seven years. This includes higher equalization payouts to poorer provinces and more generous transfers for social spending, health care, postsecondary education and infrastructure.

In the first few years, the budget ships more than 40 per cent of these new transfers to Quebec, a key battleground for the Harper Tories in the next election.

Mr. Flaherty declared that the Tory election promise to fix a so-called fiscal imbalance with the provinces had been solved, signalling he's shutting the door on more entreaties from premiers.

"It's certainly the end of the bickering. It's the end of the discussion. C'est fini," he told reporters.

Both petroleum-rich Newfoundland and Saskatchewan reacted angrily to the Tory proposals to revamp equalization, saying it ends up capping the amount they can receive.

"[Mr. Harper's] pretending he's honouring his commitment but at the same time clawing it back through the back door," Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams told CBC TV.

"I'm deeply disappointed."

Saskatchewan Premier Lorne Calvert said Ottawa's equalization solution represents a broken promise by the Conservatives.

These premiers aren't the only Canadians with reason to feel short-changed by Mr. Flaherty.

There's relatively little for aboriginals. And advocates of not-for-profit daycare say the $250-million for child-care spaces in this budget is far from enough, especially in comparison with the $1.2-billion over three years pledged by the former Liberal government.

The Tory budget also avoids the kind of broad-based tax relief the former Liberal government preferred, leaving some Canadian taxpayers with little to celebrate.

"There's little relief here for individuals without children," Canadian Taxpayers Federation spokesman John Williamson said.

Mr. Flaherty threw a lifeline to Canada's struggling manufacturers, many of which are based in the vote-rich provinces of Ontario and Quebec.

Ottawa will grant businesses what amounts to a subsidy, allowing them to write off investments in manufacturing and processing equipment over two years: a rate far faster than current rules.

The Tories also took away a special tax break for oil-sands companies in Alberta, where they face little risk of losing seats.

Scrapping the oil-sands relief is part of a bigger effort by the Tories to put an environmentally friendly green tint on their policies.

The Tories announced $4.5-billion in new spending measures for the environment yesterday including rebates of up to $2,000 for fuel-efficient vehicles.

Plus, they unveiled what amounts to a carbon tax on gas guzzlers of up to $4,000 a vehicle, an effort to discourage Canadians from buying sport-utility vehicles and other fuel-inefficient cars.

This budget's spending hikes appears to undermine the Conservative's pledge to rein in government.

"This is hard to distinguish from a Liberal government budget," the Canadian Taxpayers Federation's Mr. Williamson said. "It's the second-highest spending increase in dollar terms since the books were balanced in 1997-1998."

Bloc Leader Gilles Duceppe said he can't justify voting against a budget that gives so much to his province. "We can't let $3 billion [get] away ... We'll take the money."

Once the Bloc signalled its support for the budget — ensuring it will pass the Commons and avoid an immediate election — the Liberals and New Democrats quickly came out against it.

"I've never seen a government ... do so little with so much," Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion said.

NDP Leader Jack Layton said the Conservatives didn't scrap enough tax breaks for the oil patch.