Canada's Liberal's minority government survived a confidence vote with just one vote, staving off a snap election, reports Xinhua.

With the support of the New Democratic Party, and two independent parliament members, the House late Thursday afternoon voted 152 to 152 on a bill that proposed an amendment to the budget, adding $3.7 billion in social programme spending and delaying corporate tax cuts.

Speaker of the House Peter Milliken, a Liberal MP, voted in favour of the bill to break the tie. The speaker votes only in the event of a tie.

If the amendment had failed, Prime Minister Paul Martin would have asked the governor general to dissolve parliament and call a general election likely for the end of June, only a year after the last election in June 2004.

A month ago, the opposition Conservatives appeared to be gaining momentum as they capitalised on a controversy implicating Martin's party in a multimillion-dollar sponsorship spending scandal.

Seizing on the negative publicity, the Conservatives and the Bloc Quebecois found themselves aligned in a plan to topple the government on the confidence vote.

Speaking to a crowd of party faithful after the vote, Conservative Leader Stephen Harper expressed his disappointment.

"While tonight's vote is an unfortunate result for the country at this moment, it will also provide us with persuasive arguments for change when Canadians finally and inevitably head to the polls," he said.

Harper has indicated he will not continue to test the government with more non-confidence motions before the House breaks for summer recess next month. 

--Indo-Asian News Service