The federal government laid out its budget for 2022 on Thursday.

Interim leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, and MP for Portage-Lisgar, Candice Bergen, weighed in and says it's a prime example of Liberals catering to the NDP.

"The Liberals owe a lot to the NDP, because the NDP are keeping them in power," says Bergen. "So, the budget that we're seeing is really indicative of that. It's a classic NDP budget where the government has actually collected a windfall of revenue on the backs of Canadians who have been suffering through the worst inflation in 30 years. But it really filled the coffers of the government, and instead of giving Canadians tax breaks and giving them a bit of a break at the pump, for example, or with other essentials, they're just spending and making permanent government programs that will just increase the cost of government, which, in turn, increases the cost of everything."

She explains the budget was missing a few things the Conservatives were looking for.

Bergen notes it's a case of the Liberal government going further and further toward the NDP with every budget.

"The NDP are calling the shots," says Bergen. "We've already seen the Liberals double the deficit in the time they've been in government. We've increased just the size of government by 50 per cent. That's huge, because it's hard to undo all these big government programs. The amount of money they are borrowing means our debt now is very well into over a trillion dollars. So, these are amounts of money we can't even fathom. And it's on the backs of our children and our grandchildren who will have to pay for this. It also makes Canada less competitive. It's driving away investments."

She says Canadians are telling the Conservatives they've had enough of this borrowing.

"We're going to see more and more of it with every budget, because the Liberals and Trudeau have made this deal with Jagmeet Singh and the NDP," adds Bergen.

She explains there's another issue of concern that's been evident on Manitoba's doorstep in cities like Winnipeg.

"The housing inflation crisis is hitting especially some of the big cities in Canada -- Toronto and Vancouver," continues Bergen. "We've even seen it in Winnipeg where the cost of housing has just ballooned astronomically, and young people cannot even dream of buying a home. That is a fundamental thing for which many Canadians work hard, save money, and buy a home. Because they're so expensive, young people can't even imagine how they can do that. We were looking for ways with which the government would encourage, whether it's with carrots or sticks, but encourage municipalities, and cities to let builders build. Let's get the supply up, and that's going to be one way we can address the housing inflation crisis. The other way is limiting foreign ownership. Although the government in this budget did talk about it, and they've introduced some measures, from all the reports we've seen, there are a lot of gaps. So, there's going to be a lot of ownership from foreign owners still happening, and it won't solve that problem."

Bergen explains Conservatives also want to see more spending on defence.

"Our men and women in uniform need their proper equipment," adds Bergen. "We also have commitments we need to fulfill. We saw a bit of an increase in terms of what's promised, but we've also seen the Liberals promise over $10 billion to our defense, and not produce any of it. We're going to be watching to see if this, again, is just a lot of talk from the Liberals, or will they actually put some money into defence."

She notes the Conservatives are the only party in the House of Commons that believes taxpayers deserve a break.

"We're the only ones that want to see government limiting spending," says Bergen. "We believe government should be responsible, because it's good for the country. But we're going to be consistently Conservative, and we're going to work to unite Canadians and empower Canadians by letting them make a living, raise their family, and be able to be successful in Canada. That's our goal as Conservatives."