We’ve all heard politicians say things at election time and then do something different when in office. Well, in this election, there’s so many promises voters may not even remember what they all were. 

New Brunswick is broke. Spending is at an all time high. The deficit sits around $700 million. But that didn’t stop political parties from making an abundance of campaign promises to win your vote.

Based on just the parties’ election platforms alone, the total number of commitments made to the voter is over 800 -- in other words, the parties (combined) made over 20 promises a day throughout the election campaign. This doesn’t include all of the promises made by local candidates or by the parties over the past three years since the last election.

The Liberals made the most promises at approximately 277, the Tories made about 232, the NDP made 110, the Green Party made 159, and the People’s Alliance hasn’t released a full platform but they’ve made about 40. 

The two major parties fell over one another promising to buy 60,000 laptops for middle school children, freeze power rates for three years and provide more childcare spaces. The Conservatives claim their commitments come in at $140 million, while the Liberals say theirs will cost about $95 million. In both platforms, some of the commitments are too general to figure out the cost – of course, it’s rare that parties overestimate costs when they’re pitching an idea so the actual cost is more likely to be higher than claimed by the parties than lower.

Despite the sheer volume of promises, there’s more noise about raising taxes than there is about spending cuts. What little is being said about spending cuts is unimpressive.

Of the 800 promises made by the five parties, there were only 17 promises to cut or lower taxes. In fact, there were almost as many commitments to cancel tax cuts as there were to give taxpayers a break.

The Liberal Party is the only party not to promise to roll back or cancel tax cuts from previous budgets. However, they also have no new substantial commitments to lower taxes.

The Tories meanwhile made four promises to directly reduce taxes including cutting the small business tax rate, creating a $500 tax incentive for families who register their kids in an organized sport, freezing property tax assessments for seniors and providing tax breaks to make homes more senior friendly. While, these are positive steps the Tories are also promising to reverse business and some personal tax cuts.

Sadly, so it seems, New Brunswick’s political parties are trying to buy votes with flashy new programs rather than support lower taxes.

New Brunswick was on the right track when the Graham government reversed its tax increases in its first budget and replaced them with tax cuts for individuals and businesses.   It would have been nice to see that trend continue. Instead, the parties are making hundreds of promises that will cost you millions, inevitably drive up the province’s debt and result in higher taxes.

Before you vote on Sept 27th, let your candidates know that you expect them to bring forward ways not just to spend your money but to save it too. And they can do it with fewer than 800 promises.

It is often said that less is more – perhaps this election, fewer promises would mean more money in your pocket.