In response to the worsening economic crisis, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has introduced a budget that will generate a deficit of $40 billion next fiscal year, the first time the budget will not be in surplus in 12 years.

Here is an interactive feature from The Globe and Mail on the contemporary history of Canadian fiscal balances.

The question now is whether or not the Liberal Party will vote against the budget, sending the minority Conservatives to defeat and perhaps triggering the second federal election in Canada within six months.