Thursday appears to be 'gunfight at the OK corral' day in Parliament, with the various parties preparing for a winner-take-all showdown over the federal budget.

If the budget is passed by Parliament, "we will respect that vote,'' Jay Hill, the Conservatives' House leader in the Commons, said Sunday.

He added: "We've said we don't intend to obstruct things heading into the Thursday vote."

That means Monday through Wednesday shouldn't see the disruption and squabbling that brought Parliament to a standstill for most of last week.

But the vote appears to also mean that if the Liberal minority government of Prime Minister Paul Martin survives it, the Tories will largely back off attempts to topple it.

"If circumstances don't change I suspect we (wouldn't) see any further action prior to the summer recess,'' Hill told reporters in Ottawa.

He qualified that by saying unforeseen circumstances -- such a startling new revelation from the Gomery inquiry into the sponsorship scandal -- could bring a new non-confidence attempt.

In addition, Hill said a deal had been worked out that will see an ill Liberal MP and an ill Tory MP both sit out the budget vote.

That arrangement should be finalized on Monday.

Layton's stance

Hill's words came just as NDP Leader Jack Layton was musing his party would reassess the need for an election once the budget was passed.

"What we've said is we want to get this budget through, to show some results to Canadians,'' Layton on CTV's Question Period.

"Then let's see how people feel. I believe you may find that people don't necessarily want an election, but they see the House in such chaos that they feel that maybe we just simply have to have one.''

Layton has been trying hard to position himself as the voice of reason in the middle of the acrimonious partisanship that marks Parliament these days.

His strategy appears to be paying dividends as his party rises in the polls.

One pollster even saw a potential for big NDP gains if Canadians go to the polls.

"If that kind of antagonism between the Liberals and Conservatives -- and between Liberal and Conservative voters -- continues to endure for any length of time, it's not beyond the pale to see an NDP breakout in this scenario," said Allan Gregg of The Strategic Counsel.

The antagonism isn't just between the Liberals and Conservatives.

Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe's enthusiasm for an election remains high.

"Beyond the simple arithmetic in the House of Commons, Paul Martin no longer has any credibility or legitimacy,'' he said in a statement.

"He only has one choice left: To stop hanging onto power and call an election without delay.''

Duceppe spent Sunday in Montreal issued at a youth event.

Martin was to travel to Halifax on Monday to sign a child-care agreement with Nova Scotia.

He signed a $100-million deal with Newfoundland on Friday. On Saturday, his senior ministers signed off on a $300 million transfer payments deal with Saskatchewan and a $477 million infrastructure deal with Alberta.

With a report from CTV's David Akin and files from The Canadian Press