TRUDEAU ON THE TRAIL
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau greets volunteers and supporters before delivering remarks in Natural Resources Minister Amarjeet Sohi’s riding of Edmonton Mill Woods on Thursday.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made a stop in Edmonton Thursday to lend his support to the Liberal party’s nomination of Natural Resources Minister and Edmonton Mill Woods MP Amarjeet Sohi in the upcoming federal election.
Speaking over cheers and chants from excited supporters at the Grand Imperial Banquet and Conference Centre in the city’s southeast, Trudeau along with Edmonton Centre MP Randy Boissonnault joined Sohi to launch his nomination in south Edmonton.
“There are folks out there across this country who are trying to divide Canadians, who are trying to scare people into voting one way or another, that’s not the path we took in 2015 and that’s not the path we’re going to take in 2019,” said Trudeau. “A Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian and we stand up for each other.”
Sohi spent the past four years in Trudeau’s cabinet, first as minister of infrastructure and communities and then as the minister of natural resources.
During Thursday’s event, Sohi and Trudeau emphasized the importance of balancing environmental concerns with building natural resource projects like the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion. Sohi also spoke about his record over the past four years, emphasizing Liberal investment to improve Yellowhead Trail and cutting taxes for Mill Woods residents, all while taking jabs at the previous Harper government.
Trudeau said he would be making an announcement about the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion on Friday morning.
“Justin Trudeau has spent more time in Edmonton and more time in Alberta than Stephen Harper did. Even though Stephen Harper was from Calgary,” said Sohi. “So are you excited to knock on doors? I am.”
Not everyone who showed up to the event was there to cheer on the Liberal MPS and the prime minister. A handful of people wearing “burned by Phoenix” T-shirts made their way into the event. The Trudeau government has been marred by malfunctions by the federal government’s Phoenix payroll system that has left public servants not receiving proper pay in a timely manner.
Outside the venue, yellow-vest protesters armed with megaphones and pro-oil and gas signs chanted anti-trudeau rhymes and heckled Liberal supporters as they exited the building.
Recent polls by 338Canada.com don’t project well for Sohi, with the online poll most recently projecting a “likely” Conservative win in his riding. The website currently projects the Conservatives winning all but one riding in Alberta’s capital.