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The Liberal government survived a crucial budget vote Thursday night by a sliver, effectively ending the possibility of a snap election and giving the governing minority a bit of breathing room to finish this session of Parliament before the summer break.

By the closest of margins, the Grits, along with the support of the NDP and independent MPs Chuck Cadman and Carolyn Parrish, pushed the budget with NDP amendments through, thus surviving a non-confidence motion on Bill C-48 which contained $4.6-billion in concessions for the Democrats. The final result was 152 to 152, with the Speaker breaking the tie to make it 153 for the government.

Despite the fact that the budget will go back to committee and then get a third reading in the House, the vote brings an end to a tumultuous period for the minority Liberals. It also buys time for the Grits who have promised an election call after the Gomery report into the sponsorship program, expected in the late fall.

A relieved-looking Prime Minister told reporters on his way to a caucus meeting held immediately after the vote that he recognized the precariousness of the state of the House.

He also indicated that he wants to return to the business of the Commons and called for a return of decorum in the House.

"This is a very important day. There is no doubt the vote could not have been closer. The government has the confidence of the House but I believe it's very important for our part and the opposition that we now make this Parliament work the way that Canadians want it to."

Opposition Leader Stephen Harper rallied his troops, saying he "deeply" regretted the decision of MPs to allow the amended budget to pass, and with, he pointed out, the "slimmest of margins."

He said Thursday night's razor-thin win for the Liberals only points out the necessity of a strong Opposition dedicated to replacing the government. He vowed to continue fighting to bring down the government, although he didn't say when the next move might be made.

During the second vote on the NDP amendment, the tension was still palpable when House Speaker Peter Milliken, upon hearing that the vote was tied at 152 to 152, was called upon to break it.

"I don't know why Honourable Members keep doing this to me," he joked to tinkles of laughter in the Commons.

Earlier, the main budget bill, Bill C-43, passed 250 to 54 with the support of the NDP and the Tories and key MP Mr. Cadman.

Thursday evening's momentous vote rested on Mr. Cadman, who ended up being the sole MP to ensure the vote would pass. The MP, who has cancer and who flew into Ottawa especially for the vote, said afterward that he decided only 30 minutes before which side he would support, but in the end went with what the constituents of Surrey told him -- that they did not want an election right now.

"I'm bound as an independent especially to represent the views of my constituents. They sent me here with healthy numbers. To represent them. And it's a commitment that I made to them that I want to make sure I understand where they're at on these important issues," he told a reporter after the vote.

The votes of the other two independent MPs basically cancelled each other out.

Earlier in the day, independent David Kilgour said he was disturbed by the government's assignment of new Liberal MP Belinda Stronach, who crossed the floor, to a cabinet post. He also said he could not, in good faith, back the NDP amendment.

A third independent, Ms. Parrish, came and voted in favour of the Liberals despite the fact that she was suffering from severe stomach pains.

Having won the budget vote, the Liberals expect to close the spring session without another attempt by the Opposition to bring it down.

The Tories have said that if they won't try to trigger an election before Parliament breaks for the summer recess.

A Tory insider said they have not yet decided whether they'll do so.

Mr. Harper called for a renewed push for the Conservatives and Bloc Québécois to continue to work to bring down the government.

"Tonight, the Liberals bought a Pyrrhic victory, one that will sow the seeds of its own destruction, one that will present our party with great opportunities," he said.

Bloc Leader Gilles Duceppe said his party, which voted against both the budget and the amendment, will continue the fight to bring it down.

"I think that this government doesn't have the moral authority to govern. They managed to win this vote as you've just seen. But we will continue our struggle. I think in the coming months, we will see that we were right and that this government doesn't deserve to be here," he said, adding that the Bloc will monitor the situation on a case-by-case basis. "We will certainly continue to act in the best interests of Quebec."

But NDP Leader Jack Layton was ecstatic that his party's amendments were adopted by the Commons. "We're very happy to have been a part of making the kind of budget that really is going to respond to the things that Canadians need right now, [such as] post-secondary education and environment."

It could be September before the Liberal minority faces another test. That would push a potential election date late into the year.

But that does not exclude one of the parties from using Opposition days to introduce a no-confidence motion. Several more are coming up before the end of the spring session.

It has been a long winter of political bickering and increasing hostility toward the federal Liberals by the Conservatives and Bloc Québécois, who in the end decided they could not in good faith support a deal the Liberals made with the NDP which included $4.6-billion in concessions.

However, the failure of the Tories to defeat the budget is yet another blow to the party after the loss of Ms. Stronach and a dip in rosy poll results that showed them leading the Liberals at some points.

But the latest poll for The Globe and Mail-CTV by The Strategic Counsel between May 12 and May 15, found that 33 per cent of Canadians would vote Liberal, compared with 30 per cent for the Tories and 19 per cent for the NDP.

Last year's election saw the Tories battle for gains in seat-rich Ontario, where the party was able to grab a mere 23 out of 106 seats. It was a bitter campaign, with fights over the sponsorship program and health care and numerous personal attacks.

The dizzyingly topsy-turvy week leading up to Thursday night's crucial vote began Tuesday with the defection of high-profile MP Ms. Stronach to the Liberals from the Tories. That appeared to give the Liberals the upper hand in Thursday night's vote. Then, on Wednesday, Liberal MP Jim Karygiannis was carried out of the House on a stretcher after suffering chest pains, but he was later declared to be healthy.

On Wednesday night, Conservative MP Gurmant Grewal said he had been approached by the Liberals, who tried to woo him to cross the floor.

Things were looking even worse for the Liberals early Thursday morning after Ms. Parrish, who has already said she would support her former Liberal party, had stomach pains and it was feared she wouldn't make the vote.

Later, she said: "Come hell or high water, there's no frigging way I'm going to let one ovary bring the government down," and vowed to appear.

Ms. Parrish was indeed present for the vote.

"The scenes Canadians have been seeing on their television screens, people shouting and screaming at each other, all of that has to stop. We have to bring back a house, a Chamber, where the important debates can take place once again," he said.

Next week, MPs have a break and return to the House on May 30 for the final few weeks of this session of Parliament, which will end June 23.

With a report from Canadian Press