There are few winners and a number of losers in a budget designed to slash spending and balance the books in five years.

Ontario Finance Minister Dwight Duncan unveiled the government's budget Tuesday that slashes spending by more than $17 billion over three years.

An austerity budget that promises balanced books by 2017-18 leaves few goodies for key groups. Here is a look at some of the winners and losers:

Education:

Let's start with a sector that's both a winner and a loser, since I need a few extra moments to find a clear winner: education.

The Liberals plan to stay on track with their complete rollout of full-day kindergarten by September 2014, and also pledge to maintain caps on class sizes.

They would also continue with a 30 per cent tuition rebate for eligible college and university graduates that began last year.

But the budget also calls for "underutilized" schools to close, and for "neighbouring school boards" to merge, without a clear picture of the impact on jobs, or students.

But the real loser here will be teachers, who, like other public-sector workers, are being asked to agree to a two-year wage freeze. As well, the government wants a freeze on banked sick days and, effective this September, the elimination of all accumulated "non vested" sick days.

Negotiations with the province's teachers will likely get tense, fast.

Health Care:

After average annual increases in spending of 6.1 per cent between 2003-04 and 2011-12, the Liberals are reining in health expenditures, making this file another loser.

The budget keeps growth in health at 2.1 per cent per year over the next three years, and vows to shift resources into home care and move "routine procedures" into not-for-profit clinics.

The government promises a 4 per cent annual increase, or $526 million, in funding for home care, with few details of how services will improve.

The Liberal government:

Will the Liberals come out a winner or a loser? Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak said he will not be supporting the budget, and vowed that all of his MPs will be in the Legislature when it comes time to vote on the document.

That leaves NDP Leader Andrea Horwath as kingmaker, though she remained cagey Tuesday about whether she will vote against the budget and trigger an election.

She told reporters that her MPs will engage in public consultations over the coming days to help her decide whether the Liberals live to govern another day or voters head to the polls.

For his part, Finance Minister Dwight Duncan vowed to bring the government's plan to Ontarian if the opposition fails to support the budget.

High-income seniors:

In what could be the beginning of user fees for the province's wealthiest residents, drug costs are going up for the highest-earning senior citizens. Yup, another group in the loser column.

Single seniors with an annual income higher than $100,000 will have to pay a deductible of $100 on prescriptions, plus 3 per cent of their income above $100,000. Senior couples earning a combined $160,000 per year will be hit with a deductible of $200, plus 3 per cent of family income above $160,000.

In addition to those costs, each prescription will be subject to a co-payment $6.11.

The deficit:

Okay, a winner. The deficit. Or, if you go by the government's numbers, that is.

The Liberals say the projected deficit for 2011-12 is $15.3 billion, a full $1 billion lower than what they forecast a year ago.

Under heavy questioning by reporters about whether the government can achieve this goal, Finance Minister Dwight Duncan maintained that the deficit will be eliminated by 2017-18.