Given the financial pressure the provincial government is under, the uninspiring, unyielding budget unveiled Tuesday by Finance Minister Kevin Falcon is about as good as it could be - including a get-tough approach on spending, a few goodies here and there, and the promise of a surplus in 12 months.

The next budget will be the one the B.C. Liberals will carry into the provincial election in May 2013. This holdsteady one was designed to set the stage for that campaign.

It is not, however, an election budget in itself, since it contains precious few goodies for anyone, and increased costs for all.

We will pay more for Medical Services Plan premiums, thanks to a four per cent increase in 2013. Falcon estimates that a family of three will pay about $5 more a month as a result. And, if the province's fiscal situation worsens, the government will increase the corporate tax rate by one per cent, and that change would affect all British Columbians as well.

Much of the government's strategy of restraint will be based on holding the line on spending. After two years of no raises for its employees - what the government calls "net-zero compensation increases" - it is moving to "cooperative gains," meaning that there will still be no more money in total. If savings can be found within existing budgets, those savings can be passed on to employees.

In the long term, that means, as Falcon says, that we won't be using borrowed money to pay for salary increases. In the short term, that means we can expect public school teachers to be legislated back to work, because the B.C. Teachers' Federation and the government have no hope of reaching an agreement through negotiation.

Education remains one of the largest items in the budget with $4.7 billion allocated to it every year for the next three years.

The largest elephant in the budget is health, which will see an increase of three per cent a year, from $16.2 billion this year to $17.3 billion in 2014-15. This rate of increase is half the rate of increase in federal transfers, a clear reminder of the government's commitment to restraint.

This budget might lead to major changes in downtown Victoria, thanks to the decision to sell surplus land holdings - including a parking lot close to the legislature as well as other properties.

Falcon says the only sales to be considered are the properties not currently in use, not earmarked for future use and of no strategic benefit to the government. Of all the property the government holds, no more than two per cent of it would be affected - but the sales could mean $700 million in the government's accounts that would not otherwise be there.

All of this ties in with the government's stated commitment to eliminate the deficit. The government is still committed to major capital projects, including schools, health facilities, highways and other infrastructure.

It also will introduce a $10,000 home-buyers' grant - but it's only for first-time buyers and only for new homes, which means it's not likely to cost the government all that much. There will be new tax credits for seniors to renovate their homes and for children to get fit or practise the arts. Given the Medical Services Plan increase, these little bonuses won't count for much.

Again, there was not a lot of room for the government to manoeuvre with this budget, and Falcon had to balance the need for restraint with the need to keep the province's economy ticking along.

This budget helps set the stage for the Liberals in 2013 when they will try to sell themselves as responsible fiscal managers. It might also be designed to attract support away from the B.C. Conservatives, whose rising popularity threatens a fourth successive Liberal victory.

What's it lacking? A grand vision for a bold, new British Columbia and a sense that better times are within reach.

Let's hope that comes next year, along with a declaration that the deficit days are behind us.