The votes are counted and Justin Trudeau is prime minister. Mr. Trudeau is now tasked with turning campaign commitments into reality. And there are some important transformations that taxpayers should watch closely.

Here’s some good news: the middle-class tax rate of 22 per cent will fall to 20.5 per cent.

It’s also good to see that the maze of child benefits will be simplified. Right now many families receive the Universal Child Care Benefit (UCCB), Canada Child Tax Benefit (CCTB) and the National Child Benefit Supplement (NCBS). All of that is being transformed into the Canada Child Benefit.

In reality, however, these changes take money out of one pocket some taxpayers and put it in the pockets of other taxpayers. Currently, the highest tax bracket is 29 per cent, but the Liberals will implement a new tax rate of 33 per cent on incomes above $200,000 so a prospective cardiologist will have another tax to consider when deciding whether to endure the winters in Winnipeg or set up a practice in a lower-tax jurisdiction such as Miami. In addition to ending the UCCB, CCTB and NCBS, income splitting for families will also end taking nearly $2 billion out of the pockets of primarily single-income families.

Some of Mr. Trudeau’s campaign commitments will literally become concrete as the Liberals promise increase infrastructure spending by $5 billion per year. However, rather than roads or bridges, the Liberal platform focuses on mass transit, “social infrastructure” and green infrastructure. It’s hard to imagine farmers taking their crops to market on solar-powered buses, but perhaps there will be some flexibility to apply some of this funding to fix potholes.

The bigger problem is paying for this infrastructure. Federal money almost never comes without strings. Municipal and/or provincial funding is always a part of the mix. The City of Winnipeg and the Province of Manitoba are already racking up massive debts. The allure of matching federal dollars may drag local governments even deeper into in to the red.

That temptation may be compounded by the Liberal commitment to create a Canada Infrastructure Bank. The new bank will allow provinces and municipalities to borrow money for infrastructure projects at Ottawa’s lower interest rates. It sounds great. But it’s a bit like co-signing on a new credit card for a shopaholic. It will take considerable discipline to manage risk at this new bank and make sure local governments don’t get in too deep.

There are a couple of huge items without price tags. Mr. Trudeau is committed to working with the provinces to create a child care system; it’s hard to say what it will look like, but it certainly won’t be cheap. Mr. Trudeau has also promised to work with the provinces to put a price on carbon; once again, the form of this carbon price is undetermined, but it’s safe to say it will cost more to fill up the gas tank and heat the house.

There is one element of Mr. Trudeau’s plan that requires no imagination: debt. The Liberals say they will run deficits of up to $10 billion each year for the next three years. There is only one way to pay off a national debt that is already more than $600 billion with interest payments of $26 billion. The debt will be paid with our taxes and the taxes of our kids and grandkids.

In reality, Canada doesn’t have a revenue problem. If anything, the previous government had a spending problem. It appears the Liberals will only ramp up that problem. Hopefully Mr. Trudeau recognizes that reality soon.