The federal budget, announced March 4, held few surprises for Canadians.

It pledged to continue stimulus measures rolled out last year, while vowing to return to nearly balanced books within five years. Spending in the next fiscal year will total $280.5 billion, up $12.8 billion from the year before.

"We have (taken) extraordinary measures to protect the Canadian economy," Finance Minister Jim Flaherty told MPs in the House of Commons. "Like virtually all other countries, we needed to run a substantial deficit to do so. But unlike other countries, we are in a position to ensure our deficit will be temporary."

The 2010 budget stays true to the 2009 Economic Action Plan, continuing to roll out stimulus spending already announced.

On top of the $37 billion in economic stimulus funding spent last year, the new budget outlines the specifics of an additional $19 billion that will be spent this year.

By its completion in 2011, the stimulus plan will have funded more than 16,000 projects across the country, 12,000 of which are underway or have been completed within the past year.

Wild Rose Member of Parliament Blake Richards said this is the right budget for the economic climate the country is currently facing.

"This is the second phase in the economic action plan and for residents in Wild Rose, I think there are two key factors," he said.

"There is $7.7 billion in public infrastructure being spent and there is money in the budget for forestry, agriculture, small businesses and tourism. This will help create an economy for tomorrow."

About $1.9 billion will be invested in research and foreign talent acquisition intended to improve the productivity of Canadian businesses and $2.2 billion has been committed to support industries and communities.

Richards cited $3.2 billion in personal tax relief, including increasing the basic personal amount of tax-free income by $62 to $10,382, as a "nice treat for Canadians."

"This income tax relief will affect lower and middle income Canadians, the people hit hardest by the recession," he said.

"This will benefit the residents of our communities."

Among other tax breaks, the budget includes $80 million in new tax credits available for energy-efficient retrofits by Canadian homeowners.

The government will direct $4 billion toward extending EI benefits to more people for longer and to training opportunities for the unemployed. However, the government intends to reinstate increases to Employment Insurance (EI) premiums, effective January 2011.

The budget does not include raising taxes or cutting major transfers to the provinces or individuals, but Richards says it will likely require some tough spending decisions.

"We will use restraint when it comes to government spending," he said.

"A government should show leadership by example and we plan to do that by freezing MP salaries for three years, putting a freeze on operating budgets in all departments, eliminating any unnecessary appointments and completing an aggressive review of departmental spending."

The budget promises $17.6 billion worth of savings over the next five years that will come from streamlining and reducing the operating and administrative costs of government departments.

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation expressed dismay that the government isn’t tackling the deficit this year.

"A plan to balance the budget should actually balance the budget and this doesn’t do that. Restraint delayed is restraint denied. Taxpayers have heard similar promises of restraint before. Canadians will believe it when they see it," said CTF Federal Director Kevin Gaudet.

"The deficits of today are the taxes of tomorrow. Canada’s children will be left to pay for this legacy of spending."