Calgarians have a lot to take in, with little more than a month until Canadians head to the polls to elect a federal government.
The city expects to see several tight races, including in a new electoral district – Calgary McKnight – and just hours into the campaign, are evaluating several big promises.
All of it has folks paying more attention.
“I’m definitely in touch with everything this time around,” says Sorrel Britton.
“I’m going to be keeping tabs on everything that’s going on.”
With many voters keeping their minds on their bottom-line during the campaign, both the Liberal and Conservative parties have promised income tax cuts.
Liberal Leader Mark Carney says he’ll reduce the rate on the lowest federal income tax bracket by one per cent, while Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is promising 2.5 per cent.
“Here we are in the first day and we already have a lot of substantive policy proposals,” explains University of Calgary economics professor, Trevor Tombe.
“Hopefully this is an early indication that it will be a very policy-heavy campaign, which I think is quite important for the future of the country.”
Calgarians say it’s good news to see parties open their platforms with promises like these.
“(I would like) if grocery prices were more reasonable,” laments James Shukain. “I’m spending about $500 a month now… a hundred dollars more than I used to spend.”