Liberal MP’s leadership campaign addresses young people, new immigrants
Mark Grant
Photo Editor
On October 4, Justin Trudeau visited Mississauga, an area dominated by the Conservatives in the last election, to whip up party support. Earlier this month, he declared his intention to lead Canada’s Liberal Party.
He arrived at the Versailles Banquet Hall to the cheers of a standing-room-only crowd packing the large space.
Trudeau’s speech focused on the economy, immigrants, and the middle class, echoing the cornerstones of his platform announcement in Papineau, Québec on October 2.
His message centered on “newcomers,” and how he sees their integration into Canadian society as one of the foundations of our national strength.
“If we work hard, we can make the Liberal party their party. We can channel their hopes and their ideas into a better future for Canada,” Trudeau said in his speech, addressing new immigrants.
Trudeau also solidified his image as a reform candidate, attacking Prime Minister Harper’s “transactional politics,” a campaigning tactic in which a party’s platform changes from riding to riding, modified to appeal to the residents of local areas as opposed to one platform aimed at Canadians as a whole.
Trudeau stressed the economic power and potential of the middle class in his speech.
“People came to this country, and formed a strong middle class to create a better country—for themselves, yes, but for their children and their neighbors,” Trudeau said, continuing his push to focus on the middle class as an engine for Canadian growth.
“Canadians are not satisfied with the government they have,” he said. “They want a better one, and that’s what we’re here to do.”
After his speech, Trudeau addressed the media, and spoke about his desire to engage the young voters of Canada, flocks of whom voted for the New Democratic Party in the last election.
“I’m going to listen to [young voters], going to give them a voice,” he said. “I’m going to give them a chance to actually participate in building up a new generation.”
Trudeau is optimistic about the change he aims to bring to Canadian politics.
“I think I have the capacity to start the conversation again about [political issues] so that it doesn’t fall into partisan politics, doesn’t fall into simple solutions,” he said.
“I don’t show up with the ‘ready-made ideology’, I am looking for solutions all across the country.”
