OTTAWA – Prime Minister Mark Carney on Tuesday defended making a commitment to carbon emission targets to get the government’s spending plan over the finish line.

Carney told reporters before the weekly cabinet meeting in Ottawa that he was “very pleased” his government narrowly won the crucial budget vote on Monday night.

“This is about empowering Canadians. It’s about helping all Canadians get ahead, protecting our way of life, protecting our transfers to Canadians, getting affordability back,” Carney said.

The Liberal budget passed a confidence vote in the House of Commons by a tally of 170 to 168. Four MPs didn’t vote — two Conservatives and two from the NDP — and Green Party Leader Elizabeth May added her support late in the day.

May initially said she couldn’t vote for the budget

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