Methodology

What we track

We track clear, verifiable promises made by Canadian politicians and parties. A promise must be:

• Publicly stated in an official venue (platform, speech, news release).
• Specific enough to test (“will do X by Y,” not just aspirations).
• Within scope of the office’s authority or influence.

We avoid tracking vague statements, personal opinions, and purely rhetorical lines.

Sources we use

• Party platforms and official policy documents
• Government news releases, orders-in-council, legislation, votes
• Official transcripts and archived speeches
• Departmental plans, budget documents, Auditor General reports
• Credible media coverage linking to primary documents

Each promise page includes a list of sources used to assess its status and a short explanation of the decision.

Status definitions

• Kept — Evidence shows the promise has been fulfilled as stated (or functionally equivalent outcome delivered).
• In Progress — Measurable steps toward fulfillment are underway (e.g., introduced legislation, funded program, signed agreement), but not fully complete.
• Broken — The promise was reversed, blocked by the promise-maker, or time-bound and not achieved by the stated deadline.
• Not Started — No meaningful action found.

If a promise is partially fulfilled, we keep it In Progress and note the completed portions in the promise’s explanation.

Verification workflow

1. Capture — Add the promise with an exact quote and initial sources.
2. Scope — Normalize title, category, and who is responsible.
3. Evidence — Collect primary documents and dates.
4. Assess — Apply the status definitions above.
5. Explain — Publish a short rationale with citations.
6. Monitor — Re-review as new evidence appears.

Major changes (e.g., moving to Kept or Broken) always include a dated note.

Evidence & citations policy

• We prefer primary documents over secondary coverage.
• Every status change links to the source material.
• When a source is not public (e.g., data replies), we describe it and provide context.

Corrections & disputes

See something wrong or missing? Send us a note with links to supporting evidence. We will review, update the page if warranted, and add a brief changelog entry describing the correction.

Contact: About page.

Data access

We aim to make our data useful to researchers and journalists. If you need a snapshot or custom export, please reach out. A public CSV/JSON export and lightweight API are on our roadmap.