Fitch releases leadership platform

Bruce Fitch says that if he becomes leader of the New Brunswick Progressive Conservative party, he'll press for a tax credit to lure health professionals to the province and a tax break on home-heating fuel.

Fitch, the MLA for Riverview, was the first candidate for the leadership to release his platform, doing soThursday.

The former mayor and provincial cabinet minister said he has a vision for the province where government helps families, celebrates heritage and culture, and provides a quality education system.

The eight-page document is just a stepping-off point for his campaign, Fitch said.

Fitch trails the other candidates in declared support from Tory members of the house but said he hopes more politicians and party members will join his campaign in the weeks leading up to the Oct. 18 convention in Fredericton.

There are two other candidates — Sussex businessman and former party president Robert MacLeod and Woodstock Tory member of the legislature David Alward.