Trudeau endorses McNeil for N.S. premier
Posted Oct 16, 2012 08:47:19 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Just weeks after announcing his intentions to become the next leader of the Federal Liberal Party Justin Trudeau was charming the crowd at a Liberal dinner at the Halifax Marriott Harbourfront Hotel, Monday evening.
While he tried to keep the focus on provincial leader Stephen McNeil, endorsing him for the next Premier of Nova Scotia, Trudeau did discuss his federal platform in broad terms.
“Restoring a sense of faith that every single individual matters,” Trudeau told reporters following the dinner. “We have work to do to make sure the middle class is thriving, because if the middle class is strong, everything else flows from that.”
Liberals attending the dinner lined up to shake Trudeau’s hand. Halifax mayoral candidate and former Liberal MP Mike Savage even posed for a few photos with Trudeau.
Trudeau said his message to Atlantic Canada is the same message he has for the rest of the county – that he wants to see unity between regions.
“We’ve had enough of the politics of division, of envy, of mistrust, of playing up regions against one another, of playing up groups of people against one another. It’s time we had a party that spoke to, with and for all Canadians.”
The federal Liberals have third-party status after a crushing defeat in 2011 when the NDP rose to Official Opposition status. Since then, the party has already seen its leadership change once.
Trudeau said the Liberals are always willing to work with the other parties.
“To govern and to help serve Canadians as best we can. But the NDP is a very different party than the Liberal Party and I am running to be leader of the Liberal Party and nothing else.”
About an hour into last night’s dinner, word broke that Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty was stepping down, fueling speculation McGuinty may also take a run at the federal liberal leadership.
Tuesday afternoon, Trudeau was set to hold a townhall with Citadel High School students.
